Astros at Rangers
Nine teams in the American League are separated by 6 1/2 games in the battle for the two wild cards, with the Texas Rangers near the bottom of that pack in eighth place. The Rangers have a chance to make a move up the standings with a 10-game homestand awaiting, although they must kick it off against the AL-leading Houston Astros on Friday night.
Cole Hamels, coming off his first complete game of the season, will start the series opener for Texas, which has lost seven of its last 11. Slugger Joey Gallo has homered in three straight games, giving him 32 for the season, and has eight blasts and 14 RBIs during an eight-game hitting streak. The Astros started their eight-game road trip by getting swept in a three-game set by the Chicago White Sox to fall to 2-7 in August. Marwin Gonzalez, who had a run-scoring double Thursday to tie for the team lead with 67 RBIs, is 12-for-28 with four homers and 12 RBIs against the Rangers this season.
TV: 8:05 p.m. ET, AT&T SportsNet-Southwest (Houston), FSN Southwest (Texas)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Astros RH Charlie Morton (9-4, 3.78 ERA) vs. Rangers LH Cole Hamels (6-1, 3.59)
Morton has provided the Astros with more than they could have hoped for in his first season in Houston and needs one more win to match his career high established in 2011 with Pittsburgh. He took a no-decision despite his third straight quality start last time out versus Toronto, yielding three runs on seven hits in seven innings. Carlos Gomez is 5-for-13 with a home run against Morton.
Hamels had allowed 15 runs over 17 1/3 innings during a three-start span before limiting Minnesota to one unearned run and four hits to go the distance for the first time since the regular-season finale in 2015. He made three starts against the Astros in 2016, winning twice and surrendering five runs over 21 2/3 innings. George Springer, who came off the disabled list Wednesday, is 0-for-11 versus Hamels.
WALK-OFFS
1. Houston has won seven of 10 meetings this season, including a three-game sweep at Texas from June 2-4.
2. Texas claimed RHP Jhan Marinez off waivers from the Pittsburgh Pirates.
3. Astros INF Alex Bregman has hit safely in a career-best 12 games.