Astros at Rangers
Yovani Gallardo was disappointed by his first start for the Texas Rangers and will try to bounce back Saturday when he faces the visiting Houston Astros in the middle contest of a three-game series. Gallardo came over from the Milwaukee Brewers in the offseason but hardly resembled an ace in Monday's season opener, allowing four runs, six hits - four for extra bases - with one walk and two wild pitches in four innings of an ugly 8-0 defeat to Oakland.
"There is always extra excitement and energy going through you because you know it's the first game," Gallardo said to reporters that day. "You've got to find a way to control it. Obviously, things didn't go the way I wanted, but you have to forget about it and get ready for the next one." The Rangers have suffered three losses by an aggregate score of 23-1, most recently a 5-1 setback in Friday's series opener. Texas lost three starters to injuries in the first five innings Friday, including a first-inning shoulder injury to pitcher Derek Holland. Jed Lowrie and Colby Rasmus homered for the Astros.
TV: 8:05 p.m. ET, ROOT (Houston), FSN Southwest (Texas)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Astros RH Roberto Hernandez (2014: 8-11, 4.10 ERA) vs. Rangers RH Yovani Gallardo (0-1, 9.00)
Hernandez split 2014 between the Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles Dodgers and finished with the third-lowest ERA of his career. "I like the dependability of Roberto, his veteran presence," Astros manager A.J. Hinch told reporters recently. "He can log some innings. ... You know what you're going to get with Roberto. He's stuck around this game a long time because he's a good pitcher." Hernandez has limited Adrian Beltre to four hits in 18 career at-bats, although the Rangers' star third baseman has hit a pair of home runs against him.
Gallardo, a native of Fort Worth, Texas, will be pitching in the shadow of his hometown for the first time in his career. He has a 2.69 ERA and personal-best 13 wins against the Astros - a former National League Central rival of the Milwaukee Brewers, for whom Gallardo pitched from 2007-14. The last time Gallardo failed to pitch five innings in back-to-back starts came in July 2013.
WALK-OFFS
1. OFs Shin-Soo Choo (back spasms) and Ryan Rua (sprained ankle) left Friday's game early. Choo is likely to play Saturday, while Rua may be headed to the disabled list. Holland, meanwhile, is expected to miss at least two months.
2. Neither the Rangers nor the Astros have played a game this season in which both teams have scored at least two runs.
3. Texas DH Prince Fielder is 8-for-19 on the season but seeks his first home run after hitting only three in 42 games a year ago.