After closing out a rough homestand by taking three of four from their division rival, the Texas Rangers began a three-game interleague series on the road with an impressive victory. Texas looks to continue its strong play when it visits the St. Louis Cardinals for the middle contest of the set on Saturday. The Rangers began their string of 11 straight home games with a victory over the Cleveland Indians before dropping six in a row, including all four against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Texas turned things around by winning three of its four meetings with the American League West-leading Oakland Athletics, then kicked off its series against St. Louis with a 6-4 triumph on Friday. Nelson Cruz snapped a 4-4 tie with a two-run single in the eighth inning as the National League Central-leading Cardinals fell to 3-2 on their seven-game homestand.
TV: 7:15 p.m. ET, FOX
PITCHING MATCHUP: Rangers LH Martin Perez (0-1, 5.06 ERA) vs. Cardinals RH Shelby Miller (8-4, 2.08)
Perez will be making his eighth career start and second this season. The 22-year-old Venezuelan suffered the loss at Arizona on May 27, when he allowed four runs (three earned) and nine hits over 5 1/3 innings against the Diamondbacks. Perez, who never has faced St. Louis, went 5-1 with a 1.75 ERA in six starts with Triple-A Round Rock this season.
Miller is coming off a victory over the Chicago Cubs in which he allowed two hits over five scoreless innings before exiting with a cramp in his right calf. The 22-year-old rookie has surrendered more than three runs just once in 14 starts this year. Miller, who will be facing Texas for the first time, is 5-1 with a 0.99 ERA in seven home outings.
WALK-OFFS
1. St. Louis is 127-112 all-time in interleague play, including a 3-2 mark this season.
2. Texas 1B Mitch Moreland (hamstring) was activated from the disabled list Friday and went 1-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored.
3. The Rangers traded RHP Yoshinori Tateyama to the New York Yankees for future considerations. The 37-year-old native of Japan, who did not pitch for Texas this season, went 3-0 with one save and a 5.75 ERA in 53 relief appearances over the previous two campaigns.
PREDICTION: Cardinals 6, Rangers 2