Rangers open 3-game series at home against St. Louis
St. Louis Cardinals (23-21, third in the NL Central) vs. Texas Rangers (19-22, fourth in the NL West)
Arlington, Texas; Friday, 8 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Cardinals: Miles Mikolas (4-3, 3.83 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 28 strikeouts) Rangers: Jose Leclerc (4-1, 6.32 ERA, 1.79 WHIP, 22 strikeouts)
BOTTOM LINE: Texas and St. Louis match up to begin a three-game series.
The Rangers are 12-7 on their home turf. Texas has hit 65 home runs this season, sixth in the American League. Joey Gallo leads the club with 13, averaging one every 10 at-bats.
The Cardinals are 9-12 on the road. St. Louis ranks third in the MLB in hitting with a .263 batting average, Jose Martinez leads the club with an average of .341. This is the first meeting of the season for these two teams.
TOP PERFORMERS: Gallo leads the Rangers with 23 extra base hits and is slugging .654. Hunter Pence is 8-for-29 with three doubles, five home runs and 14 RBIs over the last 10 games for Texas.
Paul DeJong leads the Cardinals with 51 hits and is batting .313. Yadier Molina is 13-for-37 with four doubles, two home runs and nine RBIs over the last 10 games for St. Louis.
LAST 10 GAMES: Rangers: 4-6, .264 batting average, 5.46 ERA, outscored opponents by two runs
Cardinals: 3-7, .257 batting average, 5.59 ERA, outscored by 10 runs
Rangers Injuries: Edinson Volquez: 60-day IL (elbow), Drew Smyly: day-to-day (ankle), Yohander Mendez: 60-day IL (elbow), Shawn Kelley: 10-day IL (infection), Taylor Hearn: 10-day IL (elbow), Luke Farrell: 60-day IL (jaw), Scott Heineman: 60-day IL (shoulder), Elvis Andrus: 10-day IL (hamstring).
Cardinals Injuries: Mike Mayers: 10-day IL (shoulder), Carlos Martinez: 10-day IL (shoulder), Brett Cecil: 60-day IL (wrist/forearm).
