The Houston Astros and the Texas Rangers face off this Monday night in Arlington to start a three-game series. Who gets the first win in this matchup? Check out our preview below of this Astros vs. Rangers 2022 MLB season showdown.
The Astros snapped a 3-game losing skid by salvaging a 9-4 win on Sunday in the last leg of their series against the Miami Marlins at home. That’s a nice sendoff for the Astros before they hit the road for another series versus Texas. Getting the ball for Houston in this game will be Christian Javier, who is looking to bounce back from an ugly outing. In his last start, Javier got tagged for 5 earned runs in just 3.2 innings of a 7-4 loss to the Seattle Mariners at home on Jun. 6. However, Javier is 1-1 this season in 2 starts versus the Rangers, allowing just 3 earned runs on 7 hits while striking out 8 batters in 11.0 total innings. Offensively, the Astros must be licking their chops at the prospect of seeing Taylor Hearn again. They scored 8 runs on 11 hits in just 9.2 innings during Hearn’s two starts (both resulting in Texas losses) this season, thus far.
The Astros are 6-1 in their last 7 games as a road favorite.
Hearns will be hoping that the Rangers’ hitters will be producing runs at a high rate just as they have done of late. The Rangers have won their last two games to close out a 3-game series against the Chicago White Sox on the road. Texas scored a total of 19 runs in those contests. Marcus Semien, Nathaniel Lowe, Adolis Garcia, and Ezequiel Duran have all hit over .320 over the last seven days for the Rangers, who are sporting a 112 wRC+ in the last 14 days. Texas is also 7th in the big leagues with 76 home runs. Hearns will come into the game with a 4-4 record and a 5.40 ERA along with a 1.66 WHIP in 11 starts so far this year. HE is 2-3 with a 4.70 ERA and .285 opponents’ batting average in seven appearances at home in 2022.
The Rangers are 6-2 in their last 8 games as a home underdog.
