Game No. 156 Preview: Astros vs. Rangers

Astros (95-60) vs. Rangers (76-79), Sept. 25, 2017, 7:05 PM CT

TV: AT&T SportsNet-SW
Radio: KBME 790 AM, La Nueva 94.1 FM
Online: MLB.TV
Rangers SBNation Blog: Lone Star Ball

Pitching Matchup

RHP Collin McHugh (3-2, 3.44 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, .299 BABIP, 4.75 xFIP) vs. RHP Andrew Cashner (10-10, 3.44 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, .264 BABIP, 5.26 xFIP)

Preview

The Rangers wouldn’t change their home series that starts Monday following Hurricane Harvey. The Rangers front office made the tough decision to put the Rangers’ need first to keep a home series late in the season to keep the Rangers in the playoff race.

Now let us check on the Rangers in the Wild Card race to see if that decision paid off? The Rangers are in third place for the final spot in the AL with the Twins ahead of the Angels by 4.5 games and the Rangers by 5.5 games. Good to see the Rangers made that tough decision worthwhile.

Back to the Astros. Houston is 2 ¹⁄₂ games behind the Indians for the top record in the AL. THe Astros face the Rangers and Red Sox to finish the season, while the Indians face Twins and White Sox.

The Astros will send out Collin McHugh on Monday, he is 1-0 with a 4.50 ERA in two starts during the month of September. He has dealt with a detached fingernail.

McHugh is 4-1 with a 4.71 ERA in eight career starts against the Rangers, he is 1-1 with a 7.64 ERA in four starts at Globe Life Park.

Elvis Andrus is batting .333 (6x18) with three strikeouts against McHugh. Rougned Odor is batting .350 (7x20) with a home run.

Andrew Cashner starts for the Rangers on Monday, he is 2-1 with a 4.24 ERA in four starts during the month of August. Cashner is 3-6 with a 4.02 ERA in 15 career games (seven starts) against the Astros. He is 1-4 with a 4.06 ERA in five games against the Astros in 2017.

Jose Altuve is batting .444 (8x18) with a home run against Cashner in his career. Carlos Beltran is batting .400 (6x15) with a home run and seven RBIs against Cashner.