The Astros and Rangers have spent 48 hours trading haymakers in Arlington. Houston's bullpen game on Monday turned into the 18th combined no-hitter in franchise history, a 9-0 wipeout. Tuesday, Texas punched back with a 10-7 slugfest. Now we get a rubber match with a Cy Young winner on the mound — except he's the one with the question marks.
Jacob deGrom got obliterated his last time out, 6 earned runs in 3 innings against the Angels with Zach Neto taking him deep on the first pitch of the game. He's still sporting a 3.86 ERA and the stuff plays, but that's not the version of deGrom anyone's used to seeing. The Rangers desperately need the reset start because the rest of the rotation is held together with tape — Jordan Montgomery and Cody Bradford are still on the 60-day, and Corey Seager and Wyatt Langford are nowhere close to the lineup.
- Day-To-DayWalker Janek C — Double-A Corpus Christi placed Janek on its 7-day injured list Sunday due to an unspecified injury.
- 10-Day-ILJoey Loperfido LF — Astros manager Joe Espada told reporters Monday that Loperfido (quadriceps) will pause his rehab assignment until Wednesday after fouling a ball off his foot during Sunday's game with Double-A Corpus Christie, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.
- 10-Day-ILYainer Diaz C — Astros general manager Dana Brown said Sunday that Diaz (oblique) is expected to begin a rehab assignment during the first week of June, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.
- 10-Day-ILJose Altuve 2B — Astros manager Joe Espada said Sunday that Altuve (oblique) is expected to resume swinging a bat "in the next day or two," Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.
- 10-Day-ILCarlos Correa SS — Correa is scheduled to undergo surgery Monday in Houston to repair the tendon in his left ankle, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.
- 15-Day-ILLance McCullers Jr. SP — McCullers was scratched from his scheduled start against the Twins on Tuesday due to shoulder inflammation, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.
- 15-Day-ILBennett Sousa RP — The Astros placed Sousa on the 15-day injured list Saturday with left elbow inflammation, retroactive to Wednesday, Julia Morales of Space City Home Network reports.
- 60-Day-ILHunter Brown SP — Brown (shoulder) will make his next rehab start this weekend at Triple-A Sugar Land, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.
- Day-To-DaySebastian Walcott SS — Rangers GM Ross Fenstermaker said Tuesday that Walcott could be ready for game action in August, "if all things according to plan" in his rehab from the internal brace procedure he underwent on his right elbow, Shawn McFarland of The Dallas Morning News reports.
- 10-Day-ILJosh Smith 2B — Smith (illness) is expected to return to Globe Life Field this week, but it's unclear when he'll be ready to ramp up his baseball activities, Jeff Wilson of AllDLLS.com reports.
- 10-Day-ILWyatt Langford LF — Langford (forearm) will take batting practice Monday and could begin a rehab assignment as soon as this weekend, Kennedi Landry of MLB.com reports.
- 10-Day-ILCorey Seager SS — Seager (back) isn't slated to be re-evaluated for "probably another week," Shawn McFarland of The Dallas Morning News reports.
- 10-Day-ILCody Freeman 3B — Freeman (back) moved his rehab from the Arizona Complex League to Double-A Frisco on Friday, MLB.com reports.
- 15-Day-ILCole Winn RP — Winn (0-1) took the loss against Pittsburgh on Wednesday, allowing three runs on two hits while striking out one over one-third of an inning.
- 15-Day-ILRobert Garcia RP — Garcia (shoulder) began throwing from 80 feet out Friday, Jeff Wilson of AllDLLS.com reports.
- 60-Day-ILCarter Baumler RP — Baumler (intercostal) has been shut down from his rehab assignment, MLB.com reports.
Houston counters with Mike Burrows, who is what he is: a 5.75 ERA, a 2-6 record, and a back-end arm propped up by an injury list that reads like a Christmas card. Hunter Brown, Lance McCullers Jr., Ronel Blanco, Cristian Javier, Hayden Wesneski, Brandon Walter — that is, charitably, a whole rotation on the shelf. Plus Josh Hader, Jose Altuve, Yainer Diaz, and Carlos Correa watching from the trainer's room. That this team is even competitive is a credit to Joe Espada.
The market sees it the way you'd expect — Rangers -157 at Pinnacle, -132 at DraftKings, with the public hammering the Astros moneyline (60% of handle on Houston at +109). The total sits at 7.5, which feels light after Tuesday's 17-run track meet but tracks if you trust deGrom to bounce back. EVs are negative across the board, so there isn't a screaming bet here, just a coin flip dressed up as a favorite.
The angle worth chewing on: Houston has won 4 of its last 5 and just no-hit this team 36 hours ago. Texas is 1-4 in its last 5 and the one win required scoring 10 to survive. If deGrom is the deGrom from Anaheim, Burrows doesn't need to be good — he just needs to be functional. First pitch is 7:05 PM CT.