Texas @ Tampa Bay preview
Tropicana Field
Last Meeting ( Sep 6, 2011 ) Texas 8, Tampa Bay 0
THE STORY: The Texas Rangers are in the middle of the pack in pitching and near the bottom in defense. Their bread and butter is offense and they are showcasing it. The Rangers have scored 58 runs in their last seven wins, including eight Tuesday. Visiting Texas will try to win its fourth straight series against a team at least 10 games above .500 on Wednesday in the rubber game of a three-game set against David Price and the Tampa Bay Rays. The Rangers have won five of the eight games against the Rays in 2011 with one game left.
TV: 1:10 p.m. ET, FS Southwest (Texas), SunSports (Tampa Bay)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Rangers LH Derek Holland (13-5, 4.13 ERA) vs. Rays LH David Price (12-12, 3.41).
Holland has allowed one run in his last two starts covering 13 2/3 innings. He shut out the Red Sox over seven innings Friday. Holland gave up five hits and five runs over 5 2/3 innings to get the win against the Rays May 30. He is 3-1 against Tampa Bay lifetime, but has given up 17 runs in 21 innings. Evan Longoria is 5-for-11 with a homer and four RBIs against Holland. Price has allowed only six runs in his last five starts and has gone 3-2. He needs 2 1/3 innings for his second straight 200-inning season. Price is 4-8 at home, but opponents are batting only .226 against him at Tropicana Field. He allowed three runs over eight innings and took the loss against Texas on June 1. Price is 0-3 lifetime with a 6.26 ERA against the Rangers in 27 1/3 innings.
ABOUT THE RANGERS (81-62): Ian Kinsler is batting 31 points lower than his career average in 2011, but he is working on what could be his most productive season. Kinsler has five homers in his last six games to reach 26, five short of his career high of 31 in 2009. He has 69 RBIs, 67 while batting leadoff. Josh Hamilton has also been a key in the middle of the lineup with 13 hits in his last 36 at bats and nine RBIs in the last nine games. Adrian Beltre’s hitting streak stands at 12 games.
ABOUT THE RAYS (77-64): It’s getting to desperation time for the Rays. They are eight games behind the Boston Red Sox in the wild-card race with 21 games left despite winning 23 of their last 37. Tampa Bay does have seven games left with the Red Sox, including three at home this weekend, but they have to win them all. The Rays need to get the entire lineup hot at the same time, led by Longoria. The Rays’ third baseman, who is 5-for-16 in the last five games, has 14 homers since the all-star break - tops in the American League through Monday’s games.
FINAL PITCH: Price needs five strikeouts to join teammate James Shields with 200 on the season. They would be the fourth American League teammates to accomplish the feat in the last 20 years.