The Texas Rangers haven’t won the American League West since 2016. The Houston Astros have won five West titles since then.
But the Rangers are atop the division at the halfway point of the season, leading by five games, and they’ll look to put the Astros another game back when the rivals meet Sunday in the third game of a four-game series in Arlington, Texas.
Texas took a 3-2 lead in the season series against Houston on Saturday with a 5-2 win. Houston won the opener 5-3 on Friday night.
The Astros have dominated the division of late, winning two World Series and appearing in two others, but the Rangers can sense the shifting tide.
“We got a feel of [the rivalry] in Houston, and that was a good atmosphere, but I think everyone in Arlington came out today,” Rangers outfielder Travis Jankowski told Bally Sports Southwest after Saturday’s game. “It definitely gets the adrenaline flowing a little bit more.”
Left-hander Andrew Heaney (5-5, 4.38 ERA) will start for the Rangers. He’s coming off a 7-2 loss to the Detroit Tigers on Monday, in which he gave up six runs on six hits — including two home runs — and walked three while striking out five in 5 2/3 innings.
“I think more than anything, it was a couple of mistakes,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said after the game. “The long ball got him tonight.”
Heaney has allowed two homers in each of his last two starts and 14 on the season. The Astros are seventh in the American League in home runs with 97, led by Yordan Alvarez, who has 17 despite being out of the lineup since June 9 with an oblique injury.
Even without Alvarez, the Astros have improved offensively, hitting .257 in June compared with .243 in May. Kyle Tucker, who hit .313 with four homers, 16 RBIs and 20 runs in 26 games last month, has stepped up. He hit a two-run home run in the ninth inning of Saturday’s loss.
“Obviously, we’d love to have Yordan in the lineup,” Tucker said, per MLB.com, entering the series at Texas. “We put together a lot of good at-bats the past couple of days and put a lot of barrels on the ball. Hopefully, we can continue to do this and continue to put up runs for the pitching staff.”
The Rangers’ offense has been even better, and Texas leads the majors in batting average (.275), runs (491), hits (801) and RBIs (470).
That is what awaits Houston right-hander Shawn Dubin (0-0, 10.80 ERA), who will make his first major league start. He is subbing for Framber Valdez, who will miss his scheduled start due to right ankle soreness.
Dubin, a 27-year-old rookie, has made two relief appearances on the season, giving up six runs on nine hits in five innings. He has never faced the Rangers.
The veteran Heaney is 3-4 with a 3.27 ERA in 12 career starts against the Astros. He will look to rebound from a subpar June, in which he was 1-2 with a 5.87 ERA in five starts.
–Field Level Media
