Major League Baseball

Dodgers-Rangers Preview

Published Jun. 16, 2015 1:38 a.m. ET

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Rougned Odor's return to the majors was a hit, and the Texas Rangers aren't giving up many of those with Chi Chi Gonzalez on the mound.

Odor and Gonzalez will try to help the Rangers cap this five-game homestand with a fourth win Tuesday night against the Dodgers before this series shifts to Los Angeles.

Odor hit .259 with nine homers and 48 RBIs as a rookie last season, but struggled to build on that in 2015. The 21-year-old second baseman was batting .144 with one homer and nine RBIs in 29 games before being sent to Triple-A Round Rock last month.

He returned to Texas (34-30) in a big way Monday, going 3 for 3 with two RBIs to spur a 4-1 win over Los Angeles.

"How about the young man coming back, first night with the hits, but more importantly the big one," manager Jeff Banister said. "Get him back up here on night one, you see the adjustments, and it paid off for us."

Giving the ball to Gonzalez (2-1, 0.42) has also paid off.

The rookie right-hander has held righties to a .105 average through three starts. He yielded one run in the first Thursday at Oakland, then responded with six scoreless in a 7-0 loss.

"I loved the way he competed," Banister told MLB's official website. "He made an adjustment and started getting the ball in on them. He picked that out on his own. Two walks early, but once he found the strike zone, he was good. He has tremendous composure; he's composed beyond his experience at this level."

The Dodgers (37-27) have alternated wins and losses over the last 10 road games.

Yasiel Puig is hitting .419 in eight games since returning from a left hamstring strain. However, he struck out three times in four at-bats Monday, with the final one coming with two runners on in the eighth. He showed his frustration by snapping a bat in half over his leg before breaking a light in the tunnel behind the dugout.

"I think anyone, obviously, in a big situation, you want to get a hit. He didn't and reacted," manager Don Mattingly said. "I'd probably rather see a bat flip than a bat break. I don't want anyone to injure themselves. That's the only thing I worry about when slamming helmets or slamming bats."

The Dodgers are turning to Brett Anderson (2-4, 3.57), who is trying to bounce back from one of his worst efforts of the season. The left-hander gave up four runs and eight hits - two homers - in five innings while not figuring in the decision of a 7-6 win over Arizona on Wednesday.

He had a 2.28 ERA while going 1-3 over his seven previous outings.

Anderson is 0-3 with a 10.69 ERA in his last six games - three starts - against Texas, all coming with Oakland. He hasn't faced the Rangers since a relief appearance on Sept. 13, 2013, and his last start came in a loss at Texas on May 10, 2011.

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