Texas Rangers

Houston in action against Texas following Peacock's strong showing

Published May. 9, 2019 3:21 a.m. ET

Texas Rangers (17-17, third in the AL West) vs. Houston Astros (22-15, first in the AL West)

Houston; Thursday, 8 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Rangers: Mike Minor (3-2, 2.40 ERA, .95 WHIP, 48 strikeouts) Astros: Wade Miley (3-2, 3.20 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 23 strikeouts)

BOTTOM LINE: The Astros are 11-5 against the rest of their division. Houston leads the league in hitting with a .275 batting average, Michael Brantley leads the team with an average of .340.

The Rangers are 5-10 on the road. The Texas pitching staff as a whole has an ERA of 5.21. Mike Minor leads the team with a 2.40 earned run average. This is the first meeting of the season for these two teams.

TOP PERFORMERS: Brantley leads the Astros with 48 hits and has 27 RBIs. Alex Bregman is 9-for-36 with six home runs and 12 RBIs over the last 10 games for Houston.

Joey Gallo leads the Rangers with 12 home runs home runs and is slugging .679. Hunter Pence is 11-for-27 with four doubles, three home runs and 15 RBIs over the last 10 games for Texas.

LAST 10 GAMES: Astros: 6-4, .284 batting average, 3.93 ERA, outscored opponents by 22 runs

Rangers: 5-5, .251 batting average, 3.49 ERA, outscored opponents by 34 runs

Astros Injuries: Joe Smith: 10-day IL (achilles), Lance McCullers Jr.: 10-day IL (elbow).

Rangers Injuries: Edinson Volquez: 60-day IL (elbow), Yohander Mendez: 60-day IL (elbow), Taylor Hearn: 10-day IL (elbow), Luke Farrell: 60-day IL (jaw), Scott Heineman: 60-day IL (shoulder), Ronald Guzman: 10-day IL (hamstring).