Mets at Rangers
The Texas Rangers spent their weekend getting smoked by the major league-best Houston Astros and are losers of four straight and 10 of their last 12. The New York Mets, who visit the Rangers for the start of a two-game interleague series on Tuesday, are not so hot as well and enter the brief set with losses in four of their last five contests.
Texas finished with the best record in the American League at 95-67 last season but can't seem to find a groove in 2017 and has seen its pitching staff allow at least five runs in each of the last six games. The Rangers dropped to 15 games behind the Astros in the AL West with Sunday's 7-2 setback, during which Tuesday's scheduled starter, right-hander Nick Martinez, was forced to come out of the bullpen and work 3 1/3 innings to save a battered relief corps. The Mets know all about battered pitching staffs and watched theirs surrender a total of 25 runs in the three-game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates over the weekend - capped by an 11-1 loss. Staff ace Jacob deGrom will try to stop the bleeding for New York on Tuesday while Texas counters with former Met Dillon Gee.
TV: 8:05 p.m. ET, SNY (New York), FSN Southwest (Texas)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Mets RH Jacob deGrom (4-2, 3.97 ERA) vs. Rangers RH Dillon Gee (0-0, 0.00)
DeGrom was fantastic in back-to-back starts while limiting Pittsburgh and the Los Angeles Angels to one run on 10 hits in 15 1/3 total innings and striking out 19. The Stetson product was not nearly as sharp last time out, when he was lit up for seven runs on eight hits and five walks in four innings by Milwaukee. DeGrom is making his first career start against the Rangers and is 5-3 with a 1.95 ERA in 11 interleague starts.
Gee came up as a long reliever at the end of last month and made two appearances out of the bullpen, totaling 6 2/3 innings. The 31-year-old, who spent his first six seasons with New York, allowed four unearned runs and two hits - one homer - in four innings against Houston on Friday in his last outing. Gee made 124 of his 149 career appearances as a starter.
WALK-OFFS
1. Rangers 1B Mike Napoli (back spasms) sat out Sunday and is day-to-day.
2. New York SS Asdrubal Cabrera is 0-for-12 in his last three games.
3. Texas LHP Cole Hamels (oblique) threw off a mound on Sunday for the first time since going on the 10-day disabled list May 30.