Altuve takes 14-game hit streak into matchup with Rangers

Updated May. 21, 2021 3:20 a.m. ET

Associated Press

Houston Astros (26-18, first in the AL West) vs. Texas Rangers (19-27, fifth in the AL West)

Arlington, Texas; Friday, 8:05 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Astros: Tyler Ivey (0-0, 0.00 ERA) Rangers: Kyle Gibson (3-0, 2.32 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 44 strikeouts)

LINE: Rangers +111, Astros -128; over/under is 8 1/2 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Houston Astros head to play the Texas Rangers on Friday.

The Rangers are 5-8 against the rest of their division. Texas is hitting a collective batting average of .235 this season, led by Adolis Garcia with an average of .287.

The Astros are 21-9 against opponents from the AL West. Houston has slugged .438, good for second in the American League. Yordan Alvarez leads the team with a .572 slugging percentage, including 19 extra-base hits and seven home runs.

The Astros won the last meeting 6-2. Brooks Raley notched his second victory and Chas McCormick went 1-for-3 with two RBIs for Houston. Joely Rodriguez registered his second loss for Texas.

TOP PERFORMERS: Garcia leads the Rangers with 11 home runs and is batting .287.

Yuli Gurriel leads the Astros with 52 hits and has 37 RBIs.

LAST 10 GAMES: Rangers: 1-9, .188 batting average, 4.36 ERA, outscored by 20 runs

Astros: 8-2, .316 batting average, 3.14 ERA, outscored opponents by 33 runs

INJURIES: Rangers: Jose Leclerc: (elbow), Jonathan Hernandez: (elbow), Kyle Cody: (right shoulder), Matt Bush: (elbow), Kohei Arihara: (finger), Brock Holt: (hamstring), Ronald Guzman: (knee), Sam Huff: (hamstring).

Astros: Justin Verlander: (elbow), Framber Valdez: (finger), Jose Urquidy: (shoulder), Blake Taylor: (ankle), Austin Pruitt: (elbow), Jake Odorizzi: (right pronator muscle), Josh James: (hip), Pedro Baez: (right shoulder).

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

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