Rangers at Cardinals
The Texas Rangers benefited from unconventional offense to secure their franchise-record ninth consecutive series victory while the St. Louis Cardinals are struggling to muster much of anything at the plate in front of their home fans. The American League-leading Rangers will vie for their eighth win in nine outings and a sweep of the three-game interleague series on Sunday afternoon when the teams reconvene at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.
Ian Desmond's sacrifice fly in the ninth inning proved to be the final blow as Texas overcame a three-run deficit for a 4-3 victory on Saturday. The 30-year-old is 8-for-19 with a homer and five runs scored in his last five outings and is 8-for-23 with four RBIs in his career versus Sunday starter Mike Leake. Matt Carpenter recorded his team-leading 21st double on Saturday to extend his hitting streak to 11 games for the Cardinals, who have mustered just six runs en route to losing the first four contests of their five-game homestand. The 30-year-old Carpenter has reached base seven times in this series for St. Louis, which is just 15-20 at home this season heading into an eight-game road trip against the powerhouse Chicago Cubs, Seattle and reigning World Series-champion Kansas City.
TV: 2:15 p.m. ET, MLB Network, FSN Southwest (Texas), FSN Midwest (St. Louis)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Rangers LH Martin Perez (6-4, 3.38 ERA) vs. Cardinals RH Mike Leake (5-4, 4.08)
Perez improved to 5-0 with a 3.19 ERA in his last five starts after working seven innings in a 10-6 triumph over Oakland on Tuesday. The victory was the first on the road in four decisions for the 25-year-old Venezuelan, who will face St. Louis for the first time since allowing two runs on five hits in seven frames in a win in 2013. Perez walked only one batter on that day and zero in his last start after issuing 36 free passes in his first 13 outings this season.
Leake overcame a sluggish start to the season and has begun to pay dividends on the five-year, $80 million deal he signed in December. The 28-year-old improved to 5-1 in his last seven outings last Sunday after permitting two earned runs on six hits in seven innings of an 8-3 triumph over Pittsburgh. Leake, who is 0-1 with a 2.03 ERA in two career starts versus Texas, kept the ball in the park after being taken deep five times in his previous three outings.
WALK-OFFS
1. St. Louis 1B Matt Adams is hitless in five at-bats in this series and is 1-for-17 in his last five outings.
2. Texas 2B Rougned Odor is 9-for-25 with eight runs scored, three homers and four RBIs during his six-game hitting streak.
3. Cardinals SS Aledmys Diaz is 0-for-10 in his last three contests after hitting safely in 13 of his previous 17.