Dave's Tuesday Free Play:

1* on Arizona Diamondbacks +133

The Key: The Texas Rangers have no business being favored over the Arizona Diamondbacks tonight.  The Rangers are 0-12 in their last 12 games overall and have been outscored 80-20 during this skid.  The Arizona Diamondbacks come in playing some of their best ball of the season in going 5-2 in their last 7 games.  Tayler Widener is 1-0 with a 3.55 ERA in 7 starts this year for the Diamondbacks.  Dane Dunning is 3-7 with a 4.30 ERA in 18 starts this year for the Rangers.  Dunning has pitched 5 or fewer innings in 9 straight starts and in 15 of his 18 starts this year.  Take Arizona.

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My free play is on the Tex Rangers at 8:05 ET.

The Texas Rangers are currently on a 12-game losing streak, just three games away from matching the worst in franchise history (a 15-game losing streak back in 1972). However, the Rangers have some competition for "worst team in the AL," as the Baltimore Orioles sit 34-64. Texas has been outscored 80-20 during the streak and has been blanked three times and scored just one run in four other games. Sunday's 3-1 loss to the Houston Astros marked the end to an 0-10 road trip. Texas opens a nine-game homestand Tuesday night when it welcomes the Arizona Diamondback to Globe Life Field for the first contest of a brief two-game IL series. Unlike Texas, Arizona has NO competition as the NL's worst team, as the 31-70 D'backs are EIGHT games behind the 38-61 Pittsburgh Pirates, who own the NL's second-worst record. In fact, Arizona owns an unwanted MLB 'triple crown' as the D'backs not only own MLB's worst overall record but they also own MLB's worst money line mark at minus-$3,252 (over $1,000 more than any other team) plus own MLB's worst run-differential at minus-150 runs.

The starting pitchers for Tuesday will be Arizona's Taylor Widener (1-0, 3.55 ERA) and for Texas it will be Dane Dunning (3-7, 4.30 ERA). Widener made 12 appearances in 2020 (all in relief), going 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA and 1.30 WHIP in just 20 innings. He's still considered a rookie in 2021, as he takes the mound for his eighth start. Widener has been back-and-forth between the majors and minors this season and also spent some time on the 10-day injured list, after sustaining a right groin strain against the Colorado Rockies back on May 23. He picked up his lone win in his 2021 season debut (way back on April 4 in a 3-1 win at San Diego in which he pitched six scoreless innings) but enters on a streak of six consecutive no-decisions (Arizona is 3-3). Dane Dunning (3-7, 4.30 ERA) pitched just 34 innings in 2020, although unlike Widener, made seven starts (2-0 with a 3.97 ERA). This marks his 19th start of 2021 for Texas (team is just 5-13 in his starts) but only his second since July 6. It should be noted that after the Rangers went 2-12 in his first 14 starts, the team had won his last three, with Dunning posting a 1.93 ERA. However, on June 20, he allowed three ERs over 4.2 innings in a 4-1 loss at Detroit.

Ain't it about time for Texas to break through with a win? The Diamondbacks have had a DREADFUL 2021. They have suffered a franchise-high 17-game losing streak and another stretch of 13 consecutive defeats during a season in which they got off to a 15-13 start, before losing 50 of their next 58 games. Arizona set a major league record with 24 consecutive road losses from May 4 through June 25 and comes to Texas 12-40 in road games on the season. C'mon Rangers! If not here, when?

Good luck...Larry