Rangers bring 1-0 series advantage over Astros into game 2
Houston Astros (37-24, first in the AL West) vs. Texas Rangers (29-31, second in the AL West)
Arlington, Texas; Tuesday, 8:05 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Astros: Jose Urquidy (5-3, 5.04 ERA, 1.59 WHIP, 43 strikeouts); Rangers: Dane Dunning (1-4, 4.41 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 64 strikeouts)
FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK LINE: Astros -131, Rangers +111; over/under is 9 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Texas Rangers face the Houston Astros with a 1-0 series lead.
Texas has a 14-16 record in home games and a 29-31 record overall. The Rangers have a 21-6 record in games when they out-hit their opponents.
Houston has a 37-24 record overall and a 21-14 record on the road. The Astros rank sixth in MLB play with 77 total home runs, averaging 1.3 per game.
The teams meet Tuesday for the 10th time this season. The Astros lead the season series 6-3.
TOP PERFORMERS: Nate Lowe has a .272 batting average to rank third on the Rangers, and has eight doubles, a triple and seven home runs. Marcus Semien is 16-for-43 with four home runs and six RBI over the past 10 games.
Yordan Alvarez has seven doubles, two triples and 17 home runs for the Astros. Michael Brantley is 14-for-35 with two doubles, a home run and five RBI over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Rangers: 5-5, .249 batting average, 4.30 ERA, outscored by four runs
Astros: 4-6, .278 batting average, 4.19 ERA, outscored by three runs
INJURIES: Rangers: Eli White: 10-Day IL (wrist), 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)
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.