Two flawed contenders chasing the Mariners collide at Globe Life Field, and Houston's owned this rivalry all year.
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Houston's owned this matchup, taking both prior series against Texas this season, and it hasn't been close on the mound — Astros pitching has held the Rangers to a run or none in four separate games. Yordan Alvarez alone gives Houston a game-changer in the middle of the order that Texas doesn't have an answer for right now. The Rangers' banged-up infield and thinned-out bullpen make backing Houston the safer outright play.
Astros
+Won both prior series against Texas this season
+Yordan Alvarez is baseball's best hitter right now
+Hunter Brown, Josh Hader both back healthy
−45-48, lost 3 of last 5 games
−Rotation gutted — McCullers, Blanco, Wesneski, Walter all on 60-day IL
−Pena still not activated off IL
Rangers
+45-45, right in the thick of the AL West chase
+Deep lineup even with injuries around the edges
−Seager back on IL again, third stint this year
−Jung day-to-day, availability uncertain
−Bullpen thinned by Junis and Beeks injuries, Beeks out for year
Friday's series opener is the third meeting between these two this season, and Houston's taken the first two — two of three in mid-May, three of four in late May. Neither team has been able to pull away in the AL West, and both are stuck chasing Seattle with the calendar sliding toward the deadline.
The Astros' turnaround this stretch has a lot to do with health. Hunter Brown and Josh Hader working their way back has stabilized a pitching staff that's otherwise been battered — McCullers, Blanco, Wesneski and Walter are all still on the 60-day list, and Jeremy Pena is only just starting a rehab assignment at Triple-A. Yordan Alvarez has been the best hitter in baseball this season, and he's still doing that even while the rest of the lineup has been streaky.
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HOU Astros
TEX Rangers
Texas comes in banged up in its own right. Corey Seager is back on the 10-day IL after his return lasted barely a week, and Josh Jung's day-to-day with an unspecified issue that kept him out of the lineup Thursday. The bullpen's been gutted too — Jakob Junis and Jalen Beeks are both down, with Beeks done for the year after arm surgery. That's a lot of innings for a pen to cover in a series against a Houston lineup that hits.
Houston Astros
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Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Texas Rangers
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Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Injury report — info via ESPN.
Neither team is playing like a runaway winner right now. The Astros have lost 3 of their last 5, including an ugly 11-12 shootout loss to Washington, while the Rangers have dropped 3 of their own last 5 with a pair of shutout-adjacent losses to Detroit. Whichever team steadies the ship first probably takes the series, and given how thin both rotations are behind the front end, that could come down to which bullpen holds up.
Houston Astros
Jul 8?@ Nationals—
Jul 7?@ Nationals—
Texas Rangers
Jul 9?vs Angels—
Jul 8?vs Angels—
Jul 7?vs Angels—
Recent form.
This is the kind of series a division race turns on. Both clubs know a bad weekend here pushes them further behind Seattle, and with the trade deadline coming up fast, front offices on both sides are watching how healthy — or not — these rosters look walking out of Arlington.
