Series Preview: Houston Astros (27-36) @ Texas Rangers (37-27)

This is the second series between these two who better get used to each other as next year they will be in the same division and be as recognizable as the Athletics and Mariners. The Astros have had tough times lately, but a new baseball operations group seems to be giving the organization more traction at all times even though they were just victims of Matt Cain’s perfect game.

The Rangers are coming off of back-to-back series wins and look to extend their three game lead over the Los Angeles Angels. The Rangers finish off this short home stand before heading back on the road in San Diego before coming back to finishing off the month of June at home.

Series at a Glance

Texas Record: 37-27 (1st AL West)
Houston Record: 27-36 (5th NL Central, 8.5 GB)

Season Series: 2-1 Texas
Record at Texas: 0-0

Notable Transaction: August 18, 2009: The Houston Astros traded Ivan Rodriguez to the Texas Rangers for a player to be named later and Matt Nevarez. The Texas Rangers sent Jose Vallejo (August 20, 2009) to the Houston Astros to complete the trade.

Probable Starters:

Friday 7:05 CDT TEX: RHP Yu Darvish (7-4, 3.72 ERA/4.04 FIP) – HOU: RHP Jordan Lyles (1-2, 5.40 ERA/5.49 FIP)

Saturday 6:15 CDT TEX: RHP Justin Grimm (MLB Debut – 8-3, 1.87 ERA/2.55 FIP in AA Frisco) – HOU: RHP Lucas Harrell (6-4, 4.83 ERA/4.40 FIP)

Sunday 2:05 CDT TEX: RHP Colby Lewis (5-5, 3.13 ERA/4.13 FIP) – HOU: TBA

It would normally be Bud Norris’s (5-4, 4.81 ERA/3.94 FIP) spot in the rotation but he re-aggravated a knee injury in his last start against the San Francisco Giants. The Astros say they have two or three alternatives if Norris cannot go.

Projected Astros Lineup
1 CF Jordan Schafer (L)
2 2B Jose Altuve
3 SS Jed Lowrie (S)
4 LF J.D. Martinez
5 1B Brett Wallace (L)
6 3B Chris Johnson
7 RF Brian Bogusevic (L) vs RHP
8 C Jason Castro (L) vs RHP

Bench
C Chris Snyder vs LHP
IF/OF Brian Bixler
IF/OF Matt Downs
OF Justin Maxwell vs LHP

Bullpen
CL RHP Brett Myers
SU RHP Brandon Lyon
SU RHP Wilton Lopez
MID LHP Wesley Wright
MID RHP Fernando Rodriguez
MID RHP David Carpenter
MID LHP Xavier Cedeño
LR RHP Rhiner Cruz

(source MLBDepthCharts)

For more information on the Astros see FanSided’s Astros page, Climbing Tal’s Hill.