Astros at Rangers
Jake Marisnick has opened the season sharing time with youngster Derek Fisher in left field while batting at the bottom of the Houston Astros' lineup, but his early contributions could force the club to rethink his role. The Astros aim to continue their recent domination of the Silver Boot Series on Sunday when they target a series victory in the finale of a four-game set against the host Texas Rangers.
The right-handed hitting Marisnick batted eighth on Opening Day against Cole Hamels and belted a two-out solo homer off the southpaw, wasting little time building on his breakout 2017 campaign in which he finished with a career-high 16 home runs in only 230 at-bats. Despite moving down to the No. 9 spot in the order Saturday after sitting in favor of Fisher on Friday, the 27-year-old went deep off another left-hander (Matt Moore) and scored twice in 9-3 victory. "I think we can go from any position in the lineup and do some damage. Obviously, Jake at the bottom. If we can continue to get production throughout the lineup, we'll be really hard to kick out of games," manager A.J. Hinch told reporters. Elvis Andrus, who has tallied two hits in every game, scored all three runs - one of which came via a solo homer - for Texas in Saturday's defeat.
TV: 3:05 p.m. ET, AT&T Sportsnet - Southwest (Houston), FS Southwest (Texas)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Astros RH Gerrit Cole (2017: 12-12, 4.26 ERA) vs. Rangers LH Mike Minor (2017: 6-6, 2.55)
The centerpiece of a five-player deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates in January, Cole is coming off the worst of his five major-league seasons, finishing with career highs in ERA, losses, walks (55) and homers allowed (31). The former overall No. 1 pick of the 2011 draft was sharp in the spring, however, going 3-1 with a 2.14 ERA while fanning 24 over 21 frames. Cole struck out nine over seven scoreless innings to get the win versus the Rangers in his first and only start against them as a rookie in 2013.
Minor will draw his first big-league start since 2014 after finding much success in 66 appearances out of the Kansas City Royals' bullpen a season ago, when he compiled six saves and 17 holds while posting a 1.02 WHIP. The 26-year-old Vanderbilt product is coming off a poor showing in exhibition play (1-1, 6.17 ERA) and was tagged for six runs over 5 1/3 innings in his final start of the spring. Minor kept the Astros mostly in check in his three appearances against them in 2017, going 1-0 with a 2.45 ERA.
WALK-OFFS
1. Houston has won nine of its last 12 road contests in this series.
2. Rangers 3B Adrian Beltre notched his 3,052nd career hit Saturday, one shy of tying Hall-of-Famer Rod Carew for the most ever by a Latin American player.
3. Texas OF Delino DeShields is expected to miss 4-6 weeks after he was placed on the 10-day disabled list Saturday with a fractured left hamate bone.