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Vegas’ Line: 84.5 wins What The Line Is Saying "You're good, partly because the rest of the division looks shaky. But you're going to be passed by the Astros this year." They’ll Beat Vegas If… They continue to hit the snot out of the ball. Yeah, their ballpark helped raise them to third best in the American League in runs scored, but the veterans who were supposed to carry the offense (Shin-Soo Choo, Prince Fielder, Adrian Beltre) just plain raked too. If you beat Vegas, you can win a free Harry’s Razor starter set. Just leave a comment with your choice of the “Over” or” Under” and your reasoning. At the end of the season, for each team, we’ll randomly pick one of the winning predictions for a free Truman Razor set. They’ll Lose To Vegas If… Just a year ago, Vegas thought this was a 76.5 win team, as they looked old and like their competitive window was closing. Now most of their hitters are a year older and their big addition is 32-year-old Cole Hamels. If the veterans age, Hamels regresses and the youngsters don't jump right in, there is plenty of room for this team to fade. I’ll Bet The…. OVER Last year's second half finish was more indicative of the level of this team than their first half mediocrity. Plus, the rest of the division, with the exception of the Astros, could fade fast. Now it’s your turn. Give us your prediction in the comment section (you’ll need to register first) and you’re automatically entered. We’ll be giving out a free Harry’s Razor Truman Set to one of the winning correct predictions for each team, so we’ll be give away 15 sets of razors! You can also click over to Harry’s Razors and get $5 off on your first order using the promo code ‘gleeman’.

The Rangers now enter this series with a .500 record, 4.5 games back in the AL West and a half game ahead of the Twins, albeit still back of that final Wild Card spot. Since the 20th, they have gone 12-6 and held onto Gallardo after they didn’t get any trade offers they thought were compelling enough. But most importantly, the Rangers also traded for Phillies ace Cole Hamels at the trade deadline. Hamels, unlike many of the starting pitchers that traded hands, isn’t a free agent at the end of the year, and the Rangers made a point of emphasizing that this deal was for future years as much as anything. But Hamels is also providing a huge boost in the area that the Rangers have been weakest; their 4.49 ERA is last in the American League. Tuesday Yovani Gallardo (8-9, 3.47 ERA, 5.9 K/9) vs. Kyle Gibson (8-9 3.78 ERA,6.4 K/9 ) This is an interesting matchup because the 27-year-old Gibson looks a lot like the 29-year-old Gallado in terms of results and how they have achieved them. Neither is a big strikeout pitcher, though both are respectable. Both rely on ground balls. They also have identical records, similar ERAs and are within four innings of each other for the season. It could very well be that the “swing” game of the series is the first one. Wednesday Nick Martinez (7-6, 3.91 ERA, 5.3 K/9) vs. Mike Pelfrey (5-7, 4.06 ERA, 4.3 K/9) Martinez and Pelfrey have a few things in common, too. Neither is much of a strikeout pitcher, nor does either have great control, and yet they’re both having fairly decent seasons that belie those numbers. The two pitchers are also on opposite ends of their careers: Martinez is only 24 years old and in his second year. Pelfrey is 31 and a ten-year veteran. Thursday Cole Hamels (6-8, 3.86 ERA, 9.5 K/9) vs. Ervin Santana (2-3, 5.40 ERA, 5.8 K/9) Speaking of double-digit year veterans, this matchup features two of them. Santana has 11 years on his slender arm, and after being suspended for the first half of the year, he has made three stellar starts, three clunkers and one decent outing. If the Twins are to compete in August, they’re going to need their “big midseason addition” (albeit not a trade deadline addition) to be better than a coin flip. Hamels matches Santana in the “slender” department but has served as the workhorse in Philly for 10 years before this trade, averaging 207 IP with a 3.21 ERA from 2007 through 2014. Read that last sentence again. He’s also won a World Series there, received Cy Young votes four times, and threw a no-hitter in his last game with that franchise. His introduction to the American League, however, has not gone as smoothly: he’s given up nine runs over 13.2 innings in his two starts. The Lineup The Rangers are fourth in the American League in runs scored, while the Twins rank ninth, though the difference is only 27 runs over the 111 games the teams have played. But the Rangers are hitting a lot better since the All-Star break, and they’ve added both Josh Hamilton and (very recently) Mike Napoli midseason to provide a few more offensive options. Make no mistake – this isn’t the Toronto Blue Jays. But they can be formidable. It isn’t trivial to navigate a lineup with Shin-Soo Choo, Prince Fielder, Adrian Beltre, and Mitch Moreland hitting second through fifth.