The AL West race is heating up with just a few weeks to go in the MLB regular season. The Texas Rangers beat the Houston Astros 4-3 on Friday night, Houston’s fifth loss in seven games. The Rangers’ victory brought them to within four games of the Astros in the division, while the second-place Seattle Mariners are 3.5 games behind Houston. Can Texas inch even closer when these two foes face off on Saturday, Sept. 6, at 7:15 p.m. ET on FOX?

Those interested in MLB betting at the top sportsbooks can get the latest Astros vs. Rangers odds, predictions and player props from the SportsLine Projection Model, which simulates every game 10,000 times.

There is an elite battle of arms on Saturday at Globe Life Field, as the Rangers are sending out Jacob deGrom (11-6, 2.69 ERA) while the Astros are countering with Hunter Brown (10-7, 2.34 ERA). Texas’ ace has been sharp over his last three starts, as deGrom has surrendered just two runs in his last 15 innings. Brown has been the losing pitcher in each of his past two starts, though he allowed just three earned runs (7 runs in total) in those 12.2 innings. 

For strikeout props, deGrom’s is at 6.5 (Over +116, Under -158) at FanDuel Sportsbook. Meanwhile, Brown’s sits at 5.5 (Over -132, Under -102). The SportsLine Projection Model’s strongest recommendation among the two is Brown Over 5.5 strikeouts, which has been given 4 stars (out of 5) thanks to a projection of 6.4 punchouts.

Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez has the shortest odds of any player in this contest to leave the yard at +280. He’s followed by Rangers youngster Wyatt Langford at +480, then Astros teammate Jesus Sanchez at +500. Other notable names include Joc Pederson at +540, Carlos Correa at +630 and Jose Altuve at +630.

Here are the SportsLine Projection Model’s picks for Astros vs. Rangers on Saturday:

HOUSTON ASTROS at TEXAS RANGERS | 9/6 | 7:15 PM ET

Money line
Pick: Rangers -120
Texas wins in 55% of simulations, bringing value to these odds

Run line
Pick: Rangers +1.5 (-220)
Texas covers in 71% of simulations

Over/Under
Pick: Over 7 (-104)
The Over hits in 54% of simulations

Projected score: Rangers 4.2, Astros 4.0