Internet betting on Opening Day favors the Texas Rangers as they host the Toronto Blue Jays. The Rangers will be going with Scott Feldman as their starter on Monday, April 5th. Feldman will be favored in online betting against Toronto. Internet betting lists the starting pitchers when the regular season baseball season begins. It was thought that Rich Harden would get the start for Texas in the opener but the honor went to Feldman. He will be followed by Harden, C.J. Wilson, Colby Lewis and Matt Harrison.
“He deserves it,” manager Ron Washington said about Feldman getting the start for the opener, “He won 17 games [last year] and he’s been throwing the ball well here this spring.” Feldman is a pitcher to keep an eye on this season in Major League Baseball. “I’ve never even been in the rotation at the beginning of the season, so to pitch the first game should be pretty cool,” Feldman said. “I’m going to prepare the same as if I was pitching the first game or the fifth game. I’ve still got to get all my work in between and still be prepared to pitch.”
There have already been some surprises for the Rangers this spring. They sent pitchers Brandon McCarthy and Derek Holland to Oklahoma City. The Rangers have been pleasantly surprise with Wilson’s performance and he is now the #3 starter. “If he was just going to be a back-end of the rotation starter, we would have probably kept him in the bullpen,” Washington said. “He’s shown a great work ethic and leadership.
Texas has some good experience to call from in the minor leagues when they need help. In addition to McCarthy and Holland, the Rangers have Tommy Hunter recovering from injury. Texas needs better pitching this season to be a contender in online betting on a daily basis. The Rangers were just 18th in the league a year ago in ERA and that is simply not good enough to win a division.
Texas won 87 games last season and they are considered a serious contender in Internet betting to win the American League West this season because their pitching is improved. The Angels are still the slight favorites but Texas is right there. A rotation of Feldman, Harden and Wilson as the top three could put a lot of pressure on American League teams. The Rangers can always hit so if they get some pitching this year they can be a team that can win a lot of games.