Rangers at Astros
Left-hander Cole Hamels gets a chance to avenge an Opening Day loss as he takes the mound for his fourth start of the season when the Texas Rangers visit the Houston Astros on Friday night in the opener of a three-game set. The Rangers dropped three of four versus the Astros to open the season and became the first team to 10 losses after a three-game by the Los Angeles Angels.
One day after losing second baseman Rougned Odor for three weeks with a hamstring injury, Texas shortstop and leading hitter Elvis Andrus suffered a fractured elbow when he was hit by a pitch in Wednesday's series finale versus the Angels. "You have one of your best players with just an absolutely unfortunate injury," Hamels said. "You don't want to see this type of injury to such a main part of your team, and, obviously, the heart of the order, right up the middle, a shortstop." Riding a four-game slide and with injuries piling up, Texas now has to face Houston right-hander Gerrit Cole, who has made a seamless transition to the American League by winning both starts in dominating fashion. The Astros are coming off a crushing loss at Minnesota after erasing a seven-run deficit, but one positive sign was the re-emergence of the offense following a week-long slump.
TV: 8:10 p.m. ET, FS Southwest (Texas), AT&T SportsNet-Southwest (Houston)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Rangers LH Cole Hamels (1-2, 5.06 ERA) vs. Astros RH Gerrit Cole (1-0, 0.64)
Hamels is struggling to find consistency in the early going, surrendering five homers in his first three outings, including a pair against Houston when he yielded three runs on five hits in 5 2/3 innings. He struck out 11 over five innings in a 4-1 win at Oakland before he was pounded for seven runs, including two more blasts, versus Toronto last time out. Evan Gattis is 9-for-26 with three home runs against Hamels.
Cole overpowered the Rangers in his American League debut with seven strong innings, striking out 11 and giving up a solo homer among two hits in an 8-2 victory. The 27-year-old followed that up with another masterpiece against San Diego on Saturday, scattering five hits over seven scoreless innings while striking out 11 again. Cole has won both of his career starts against Texas, fanning 20 over 14 innings.
WALK-OFFS
1. Astros 2B Jose Altuve went 9-for-16 in the season-opening series versus Texas.
2. Rangers INF Jurickson Profar, a career .227 hitter, is expected to start in place of Andrus.
3. Astros 1B Yuli Gurriel is expected to be activated off the 10-day disabled list on Friday.
PREVIEW: Astros 5, Rangers 2