The Texas Rangers and Houston Astros will do battle in Houston starting on Monday night in an AL West showdown. The Rangers have led the division for the better part of the season but the defending World Champion Astros are now within range to overtake them as the season heads toward August. The pitching matchup on Monday night will be Texas' righty Nathan Eovaldi (11-3, 2.69) taking Astros' righty Brandon Bielak (5-5, 3.46) The first pitch is scheduled for 8:10 PM EST.
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The Texas Rangers were riding high to start the second half of the season following the All-Star break. They came out with six straight wins heading into this weekend's showdown with the NL West Division-leading Los Angeles Dodgers. The Rangers were humbled in the first two games of the series, allowing 27 runs and outscored 27-8 in two straight blowouts. On Sunday, the Rangers turned to veteran lefty Martin Perez to slow down the Dodgers' offense. Perez allowed four hits and four runs through six innings to pick up the win in an 8-4 Rangers' win.
Simmy sets the tone ?? pic.twitter.com/pzSEr5q2k2
— Texas Rangers (@Rangers) July 22, 2023
The Rangers will turn to their ace, Nathan Eovaldi, in game one of the series against the Astros. Eovaldi is 11-3 on the season in 19 starts including a team-leading 11 quality starts. He has allowed just 91 hits in 123.2 innings of work and a tidy 2.69 ERA. Eovaldi's K/9 rate is 8.1 and his WHIP stands at 1.01. On the road, Eovaldi is 6-1 in 11 starts including five quality starts. He has allowed 57 hits in 71.2 innings pitched with an ERA of 2.76. His K/9 rate lowers to 7.8 on the road and his WHIP rises slightly to 1.08. In his last three starts, Eovaldi is 2-0 with a sparkling 1.96 ERA.
Key Injuries: SS Corey Seager is out.