Texas @ Houston preview

Last Meeting ( Jul 18, 2015 ) Texas 7, Houston 6

Texas manager Jeff Banister lamented about the Rangers’ inability to get important hits when they needed them following his team’s series-opening loss to the Houston Astros on Friday. His charges got it right one day later for only their sixth win in 22 tries and eye their fifth victory in their last seven road contests on Sunday when they meet the Astros in the rubber match of latest edition of the Lone Star Series.

The Rangers, who had dropped eight of their previous nine in part by leaving 63 runners stranded over that span, continued to toil at the plate in Friday’s 3-2 loss despite outhitting Houston 15-9. Texas made its 14 hits count a bit more on Saturday, belting three home runs and holding off a pair of late rallies in a 7-6 win. Houston, which ended a six-game slide in the opener, has dropped four of the last five meetings in this series. The Astros have to feel good about the chances of winning their first series since sweeping Kansas City at home from June 29-July 1 as they turn to Dallas Keuchel, who is 8-0 with a 1.24 ERA in 10 outings at Minute Maid Park this season.
TV: 2:10 p.m. ET, FSN Southwest (Texas), ROOT (Houston)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Rangers RH Yovani Gallardo (7-8, 2.62 ERA) vs. Astros LH Dallas Keuchel (11-4, 2.23)
Despite taking his second loss in as many tries after yielding a run over 5 2/3 innings versus San Diego last Sunday, Gallardo entered the break with a 4-2 mark and 1.29 ERA across his last 10 outings. The 29-year-old Mexican has held the opposition to a .196 batting average over that same span and carries a 22 1/3-inning road scoreless streak into this contest. Gallardo notched his first win of the season against Houston on April 11, allowing two runs in 5 2/3 frames to improve to 14-3 with a 2.72 ERA in 18 starts versus the Astros.
Keuchel extended his league-best streak of working at least six innings to 30 straight starts on July 11, but it wasn’t enough as he took the loss after allowing three runs in seven frames at Tampa Bay. Nevertheless, the AL co-leader in wins (with Seattle's Felic Hernandez) and leader in innings pitched (137 1/3) prior to the Midsummer Classic earned the starting nod in his first career All-Star Game appearance. Keuchel hasn’t received much help from his offense in either of his starts against Texas in 2015, picking up two no-decisions despite posting a 1.80 ERA.

WALK-OFFS
1. Texas 2B Rougned Odor and Houston C Hank Conger got involved in a ninth-inning verbal exchange that cleared the benches and led to shouting match between Banister and Astros manager A.J. Hinch on Saturday, but no ejections were handed out after order was restored.
2. Astros DH Evan Gattis went 0-for-4 on Saturday and is 5-for-28 with no homers and one RBI in seven games against the Rangers this season.
3. Assuming Texas’ Adrian Beltre plays at third base in the finale, he will tie Graig Nettles for the second-most games at the hot corner in major-league history (2,412), trailing only Hall-of-Famer Brooks Robinson (2,870).

PREDICTION: Astros 3, Rangers 2