Rangers vs. Astros prediction and odds for Wednesday, July 26 (Houston will complete the sweep)

The Houston Astros began their series against the Texas Rangers with a chance of evening the standings atop the AL West with a 3-0 sweep.

Well, they're now one game away from doing exactly that after beating the Rangers in the first two games of the series.

To make good news even better, Houston is starting its ace, Framber Valdez, in tonight's game.

Let's dive into the odds.

Rangers vs. Astros odds, run line, and total

Rangers vs. Astros prediction and pick

The Astros have a significant advantage in the pitching department tonight, so I see no reason why we should bet on them to pull off the series sweep against the Rangers.

Framber Valdez has stumbled a bit in recent starts, giving up nine earned runs in his last 11.1 innings pitched, but his previous start against the Rangers gives me confidence he'll bounce back tonight. He got the start against them back on April 16th and gave up only one earned run in 6.0 innings pitched.

Let's also consider how strong the Astros offense has been of late. Over the last 30 days, they rank eighth in the Majors in OPS at .768.

Finally, even if the Astros can't get to Heaney, the Rangers will eventually have to turn to their bullpen which has been ice cold of late. The Texas bullpen has an ERA of 6.02 over the last 30 days, which ranks 27th over that time span.

The Astros complete the sweep tonight.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change