Rangers play the Astros in first of 3-game series
Houston Astros (37-23, first in the AL West) vs. Texas Rangers (28-31, second in the AL West)
Arlington, Texas; Monday, 8:05 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Astros: Cristian Javier (3-3, 3.22 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 56 strikeouts); Rangers: Taylor Hearn (4-4, 5.40 ERA, 1.64 WHIP, 47 strikeouts)
FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK LINE: Astros -165, Rangers +142; over/under is 9 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Texas Rangers host the Houston Astros on Monday to begin a three-game series.
Texas is 28-31 overall and 13-16 at home. Rangers hitters have a collective .389 slugging percentage to rank seventh in the AL.
Houston has a 37-23 record overall and a 21-13 record on the road. The Astros are 27-6 in games when they have more hits than their opponents.
Monday's game is the ninth time these teams meet this season. The Astros are up 6-2 in the season series.
TOP PERFORMERS: Adolis Garcia has 10 doubles, two triples, 12 home runs and 40 RBI for the Rangers. Marcus Semien is 14-for-43 with a double, five home runs and seven RBI over the last 10 games.
Yordan Alvarez has seven doubles, two triples and 17 home runs for the Astros. Michael Brantley is 13-for-31 with two doubles, a home run and four RBI over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Rangers: 4-6, .236 batting average, 4.30 ERA, outscored by eight runs
Astros: 5-5, .287 batting average, 4.04 ERA, even run differential
INJURIES: Rangers: Steele Walker: 10-Day IL (covid-19), Brett Martin: 15-Day IL (covid-19), Glenn Otto: 15-Day IL (covid-19), Mitch Garver: 10-Day IL (covid-19), Josh Smith: 10-Day IL (shoulder), Jose Leclerc: 60-Day IL (elbow), Jonathan Hernandez: 60-Day IL (elbow)
Astros: Parker Mushinski: 15-Day IL (left elbow), Blake Taylor: 15-Day IL (elbow), Jake Odorizzi: 15-Day IL (leg), Taylor Jones: 60-Day IL (back), Lance McCullers Jr.: 60-Day IL (forearm), Jacob Meyers: 10-Day IL (shoulder)
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.