Florida Marlins (37-46) at Texas Rangers (44-40) Game 3 of 3 Preview (7:05 pm CT)

Tonight, the Texas Rangers will finish off a three-game home series against the Florida Marlins. It’s anyone’s series as the Rangers won the first game but the Marlins were able to win last night’s game with a strong first inning that resulted in Rangers starting pitcher Derek Holland being pulled after 2/3 innings.

Despite having dropped four of their previous six games, the Texas Rangers are still in first place in the American League West, but are only one game ahead. The Rangers will look to keep from losing two consecutive series at home after having lost two of the three games against the New York Mets during their last homestand.

Pitching Matchups

The Rangers will start things off with their ace starting LHP C.J. Wilson. Wilson is 8-3 with a 3.14 ERA and will aim to continue his strong success this season tonight against the Marlins. He will be seeking his eight straight start without a loss. Last time out, Wilson got the win in a 7-3 victory over the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park. He allowed two runs on seven hits over seven innings.

The Marlins will counter with RHP Javier Vazquez. He is 4-8 this year with a 5.83 ERA. In his last five starts, he has four losses and one win. Despite getting the loss last time out, he allowed just one run on three hits over seven innings against the A’s. The time before that, he allowed 10 hits over 5.1 innings but none of those hits turned into runs. While that all sounds great, he has struggled as in a combined 7.2 innings, he allowed 13 runs on 15 hits.

Pitchers vs. Hitters

LHP C.J. Wilson: Jose Lopez has the most experience against the Rangers’ lefty and has gone 11-for-23 in his career with two doubles, three RBIs, three walks and one strikeout. John Buck is 2-for-3 with one homer and three RBIs, Omar Infante is 1-for-2 as is Hanley Ramirez. Mike Stanton, Gaby Sanchez, and Greg Dobbs have not been able to safely hit against Wilson in up to three at-bats.

RHP Javier Vazquez: Adrian Beltre is 16-for-37 with four doubles, two homers, five RBIs and five strikeouts. Michael Young is 8-for-23 with one homer and three RBIs, Josh Hamilton is 3-for-6 with one homer and four RBIs and Ian Kinsler is 3-for-12 with one RBI. Nelson Cruz is 1-for-8 and Elvis Andrus is 1-for-6. Yorvit Torrealba is 1-for-2 and David Murphy is 3-for-8 with two RBIs while Mitch Moreland is 2-for-3 with two RBIs.