Houston Astros (19-9) vs. Texas Rangers (11-17), May 4, 2017, 1:10 PM CDT

TV: ROOTSW

Radio: KBME 790 AM, La Nueva 94.1 FM

Online: MLB.TV

Rangers SBNation Blog: Lone Star Ball

Pitching Matchup

RHP Joe Musgrove (1-2, 4.88 ERA, 1.34 WHIP) vs. RHP A.J. Griffin (2-0, 4.11 ERA, 0.85 WHIP)

Preview

My oh my how three games can change the feel of a rivalry.

Three days ago...

• conversation centered around the Astros awful record against the Rangers over the last two years (which shall not be regurgitated here for the sake of Astros fans)
• Rangers posted an Alex Bregman tweet on their bulletin board, similar to how they posted a Ken Giles quote on their bulletin board last year before beating the Astros yet again
• the pressure seemed to be on the Astros to finally find a way to beat the Rangers, and they’d have to do it without their ace pitcher Keuchel who pitched the day before the series began

Now, three days later...

• Astros have 2 comeback wins against the Rangers, one that included a benches clearing fracas, and one that came after being down 5-0
• Astros have blown out the Rangers 10-1
• Astros have the best record in baseball and are looking to be the first team to 20 wins
• Rangers have fallen to 6 games under .500 and 8 games back in the division
• Rangers have lost Cole Hamels for at least 8 weeks
• Marwin Gonzalez has entrenched himself as one of the most annoying players for Rangers’ fans (dating back to 2013 when Marwin Gonzalez spoiled Yu Darvish’s bid for a perfect game with 2 outs in the 9th)

Despite what happens today, the Astros have already changed the feel of this rivalry, showing that the past really is in the past. With a win today, the Astros will have as many wins against the Rangers this year as they did in all of 2016.

Go ‘Stros!!

Starting Lineups