Phillies vs Rangers Prediction, Odds & Best Bet for March 31 (Back Another High-Scoring Game in Texas)

Phillies vs. Rangers Game Info

• Date: Sunday, April 2, 2023
• Time: 7:08 p.m. ET
• Venue: Globe Life Field -- Arlington, TX
• Coverage: ESPN

The 2023 MLB season continues on Sunday with a thrilling showdown between the Philadelphia Phillies and Texas Rangers. Texas has emerged victorious in each of the first two games of this opening series, winning by a score of 11-7 on Thursday and 16-3 on Saturday.

The Phillies will attempt to fend off a sweep by sending Bailey Falter (4.36 career ERA) to the mound, while the Rangers will have their ace from last season in Martin Perez (2.89 ERA in 2022) draw the start. Will Texas continue to shine at the plate of will Philadelphia stop the bleeding with a victory?

Phillies vs. Rangers Odds & Spread

• All MLB betting lines, odds and prop bets are from FanDuel Sportsbook.
• Moneyline: PHI: (+108) | TEX: (-126)
• Spread: PHI: +1.5 (-205) | TEX: -1.5 (+168)
• Total: 8.5 -- Over: (-106) | Under: (-114)

The Rangers enter this interleague matchup as slight favorites on the moneyline at FanDuel Sportsbook. This game also has a projected total of 8.5 runs, with the under favored at -114 odds.

Phillies vs. Rangers Betting Trends

• Philadelphia is 1-5 straight up in its last six away games.
• The total has hit the over in five of Philadelphia's last seven games in April.
• Texas is 10-0 straight up in its last 10 games against Philadelphia.
• The total has hit the over in six of Texas' last seven games against an NL opponent.

Phillies vs. Rangers Prediction & Pick

This is certainly not the start anyone in Philly was expecting after watching the team make a run to the World Series last year. The concerns are on the mound as the Phillies have allowed an MLB-high 27 runs across two games. Losing games started by Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler is never good.

The Rangers have dominated at the plate, posting a slash line of .375/.455/.625 as a team. It was catcher Mitch Garver that dazzled on Saturday with a pair of three-run home runs. It's easy to see why Texas is favored here when considering Perez pitched six scoreless innings against Philly last season.

Falter is still working through some kinks as he tries to find his footing at the MLB level. He gave up 16 home runs in 84.0 innings last summer and now has to face a Texas lineup that is filled with powerful bats (Marcus Semien, Nathaniel Lowe, etc.). The Rangers start the year off with an exciting sweep.

Final Score Prediction: Phillies: 5 | Rangers: 6

Phillies vs. Rangers Best Bet

Each of the first two games in this series resulted in at least 18 runs and there's a lot to like about another high-scoring game breaking out on Sunday. After all, the total has hit the over in five of Philadelphia's last seven games in April as well as in four of Texas' last five games against an NL East opponent. Trea Turner and JT Realmuto will do whatever they can to match the Rangers' hot offense.

Bet: Over 8.5 Total Runs (-106)

Larry Rupp is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Larry Rupp also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username phillyfan424. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel. 

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.