A pair of MLB’s best hitters square off when the Texas Rangers and Houston Astros meet at 8:10 p.m. ET on Friday, at Daikin Park. Josh Jung has a .325 batting average (seventh in league) for the Rangers, while Yordan Alvarez ranks eighth at .321. Jack Leiter (1-3, 4.85 ERA) gets the start for the Rangers, who are 21-22 this season and third in the AL West. Spencer Arrighetti (4-1, 1.88 ERA) is the expected starter for the Astros, who are 17-28 and fourth in the AL West.
How to watch Texas Rangers vs. Houston AstrosRangers vs. Astros odds
Injury reportsRangers
Wyatt Langford: 10 Day IL (Forearm), Cody Freeman: 10 Day IL (Back ), Josh Smith: 10 Day IL (Glute), Robert Garcia: 15 Day IL (Shoulder), Chris Martin: 15 Day IL (Shoulder), Carter Baumler: 15 Day IL (Ribs), Luis Curvelo: 15 Day IL (Biceps), Jordan Montgomery: 60 Day IL (Elbow), Cody Bradford: 60 Day IL (Elbow), Nathan Eovaldi: day-to-day (Side)
Astros
Joey Loperfido: 10 Day IL (Quadricep), Carlos Correa: 10 Day IL (Ankle), Jake Meyers: 10 Day IL (Oblique), Taylor Trammell: 10 Day IL (Groin), Jeremy Pena: 10 Day IL (Knee), Yainer Diaz: 10 Day IL (Abdominal), Nate Pearson: 15 Day IL (Elbow), Bennett Sousa: 15 Day IL (Elbow), Hayden Wesneski: 60 Day IL (Elbow), Hunter Brown: 60 Day IL (Shoulder), Ronel Blanco: 60 Day IL (Elbow), Brandon Walter: 60 Day IL (Elbow), Cristian Javier: 60 Day IL (Shoulder), Josh Hader: 60 Day IL (Biceps)
Stats to know
Texas’ Jung has hit five home runs this season. He has also tallied 20 RBIs and has scored 19 runs. In 164 plate appearances, he has recorded a .325 BA, .372 OBP and .510 SLG with a 6.1% walk rate and a 15.9% strikeout rate.
In 181 plate appearances, Brandon Nimmo has hit four long balls, tallied 12 RBIs and scored 18 runs. He is batting .281/.359/.425 and has posted a 19.3% strikeout rate and a 9.4% walk rate.
Houston’s Alvarez is slashing .321/.429/.642 this season with 14 home runs (5th in MLB), 30 RBIs (8th in MLB) and an OPS of 1.072 (2nd in MLB). He has a 15.7% strikeout rate and a 14.1% walk rate in 198 plate appearances, and he has scored 29 total runs.
In 183 plate appearances, Christian Walker has slashed .270/.344/.515 this season. He has hit 10 long balls (17th in MLB) and driven in 29 runs (13th in MLB) with a strikeout rate of 18.6% and a walk rate of 9.3%. and has scored 26 runs.
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