The Texas Rangers will try to bounce back from a rough series when they host the Houston Astros on Monday.
After getting swept by the Los Angeles Angels, the Texas Rangers will look to bounce back on Memorial Day when they host the Houston Astros.
Before the in-state rivals begin their four-game set, here is what you should know:
The Records
The outcomes of the last three games for the Rangers and the Astros have been on opposite ends of the spectrum.
As previously mentioned, the Rangers are trying to recover from a sweep suffered against the Angels on the road that dropped them to 24-28 on the season. Texas also last faced the Astros from May 15-17, and Houston took two out of three games.
The Astros, however, are riding momentum after sweeping the Chicago Cubs. They have also won two of their last three series.
Pitching Matchups
Taking the mound for the Rangers will be right-hander Kumar Rocker.
Rocker is coming off a win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19 in which he pitched 7 ⅔ shutout innings and struck out seven batters while allowing three hits and three walks. Through nine games, eight of which were starts, Rocker is 2-4 with a 3.60 ERA.
Rocker’s outing against the Rockies was his longest, and most effective, yet. Before it, he never exceeded six innings and six strikeouts. Through 45 total innings of work, Rocker has struck out 37 batters and allowed 42 hits, 18 earned runs and 20 walks.
Conversely, Houston will give the ball to right-hander Tatsuya Imai, who is coming off a tough loss to the Minnesota Twins in which he allowed five hits and three earned runs (two home runs) while notching five strikeouts.
Through two starts in May, Imai has already given up nine home runs and four home runs on 10 hits. Overall, he is 1-2 with an 8.31 ERA through five starts and 17 ⅓ innings. He has allowed 17 hits, 16 earned runs, and 14 walks while only striking out 21 batters.
The Rangers’ offense has a chance to jump on Imai early, whose struggles have been evident throughout the season. Additionally, Rocker has a chance to build off his best outing of the season.
Other Keys
When it comes to offensive production, the output of the Rangers has been below average, and it has hurt them.
Given Imai’s numbers, the Rangers have an opportunity to capitalize and slow the momentum of the Astros, but it is hard to say if their offense can make the most of the opportunity. In hits, batting average and RBIs, Texas is one of baseball’s bottom-10 teams.
Meanwhile, Houston is tied with the Tampa Bay Rays for the seventh-most hits in baseball, which provides another layer to the challenges the Rangers will face.
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