The Houston Astros and Texas Rangers will resume their AL West rivalry series on Monday at Globe Life Field. First pitch is at 1:05 p.m. CT.
Houston (45-38 SU and 43-40 RL) has not named a probable starter for Monday. It's Cristian Javier's turn in the rotation, but it's been speculated that the Astros may skip his start to give him an extra day of rest. If H-Town opts to go in that direction, Brandon Bielak (3-4 with a 4.37 ERA) could be recalled from Triple-A Sugar Land to start in his place on Monday.
Texas (50-33 SU and 51-32 RL) is starting left-hander Martín Pérez. The 32-year-old is 7-3 with a 4.28 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP in 16 outings this season.
Houston split the first two games of the series and will skip Framber Valdez's next scheduled start on Sunday. The 'Stros are five games behind the Rangers in the division standings.
Houston scores 4.63 runs per game (11th) and hits .248 (18th) with a .725 OPS (15th). It's hit 97 homers (14th) and stolen 60 bases (16th) in 2023. The pitching staff sports a 3.59 ERA (1st) and a 1.25 WHIP (10th) with 40 quality starts.
With Javier “scuffling a little bit,” per Astros manager Dusty Baker, the team could turn to Bielak on Monday. The right-hander's 15-day window that he must stay in the minor leagues expires Sunday. Bielak has appeared in nine games, making eight starts, for the big league club this year. His most recent outing was back on June 17 (four earned runs on five hits in 4.2 frames) vs. Cincinnati.