Texas Rangers (59-76, fourth in the AL West) vs. Houston Astros (87-49, first in the AL West)
Houston; Wednesday, 8:10 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Rangers: Cole Ragans (0-0); Astros: Cristian Javier (8-9, 3.07 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 157 strikeouts)
FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK LINE: Astros -285, Rangers +233; over/under is 8 runs
BOTTOM LINE: Both the Houston Astros and the Texas Rangers are looking for a series win with a victory on Wednesday.
Houston has a 44-21 record at home and an 87-49 record overall. Astros hitters have a collective .418 slugging percentage to rank seventh in MLB.
Texas is 59-76 overall and 31-38 in road games. The Rangers are 10-29 in games decided by one run.
Wednesday's game is the 19th time these teams meet this season. The Astros have a 13-5 advantage in the season series.
TOP PERFORMERS: Alex Bregman has 34 doubles and 20 home runs for the Astros. Jose Altuve is 14-for-41 with five doubles and three home runs over the last 10 games.
Corey Seager has 18 doubles, a triple and 29 home runs while hitting .248 for the Rangers. Nate Lowe is 14-for-37 with two doubles and two home runs over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Astros: 6-4, .222 batting average, 1.66 ERA, outscored opponents by 11 runs
Rangers: 1-9, .223 batting average, 5.93 ERA, outscored by 28 runs
INJURIES: Astros: Justin Verlander: 15-Day IL (calf), Ryan Pressly: 15-Day IL (neck), Aledmys Diaz: 10-Day IL (groin), Michael Brantley: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Jason Castro: 60-Day IL (knee), Blake Taylor: 60-Day IL (elbow), Josh James: 60-Day IL (lat)
Rangers: Josh Sborz: 60-Day IL (right elbow), Cole Ragans: 15-Day IL (calf), Joe Barlow: 15-Day IL (finger), Spencer Howard: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Jon Gray: 15-Day IL (side), Mitch Garver: 60-Day IL (forearm), Eli White: 60-Day IL (wrist)
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
