On deck: Astros at Texas Rangers
Where/when: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday at 7:05 p.m.; Globe Life Field, Arlington.
TV/radio: ATTSW, BSSW; 790 AM, 740 AM, 1010 AM (Spanish).
Pitchers: Monday, RHP Jake Odorizzi (6-7, 4.28) vs. RHP Spencer Howard (0-3, 6.21); Tuesday, RHP Zack Greinke (11-5, 3.66) vs. RHP Jordan Lyles (8-11, 5.43); Wednesday, RHP Jose Urquidy (6-3, 3.51) vs. RHP Kohei Arihara (2-3, 5.89); Thursday, LHP Framber Valdez (10-5, 3.26) vs. TBD.
Astros (83-59) update: Houston enters the final three weeks of the season with a 6½-game lead in the American League West over Oakland and Seattle. The Astros’ magic number for winning the division over both teams is 14. … The Astros have already clinched this year’s Silver Boot, having gone 11-4 against the Rangers. These are their last four meetings. … In 10 September games, Kyle Tucker is slashing .429/.512/.857 with three home runs and nine RBIs. The on-base percentage ranks third in the majors this month behind Juan Soto (.589) and Trey Mancini (.568). … Greinke, who will be making his first start since going on the COVID-19 injured list, has 2,799 career strikeouts, four shy of Cy Young, who ranks 23rd all-time.
Rangers (53-89) update: Texas is coming off a 6-3 road trip, the most wins it’s had on a trip since an 8-2 excursion in 2016. … The Rangers rank 29th in the majors in batting (.231), 30th in on-base percentage (.294) and 28th in slugging (.378), in contrast to the Astros, who are first in batting (.268) and on-base percentage (.340) and third in slugging (.439). … Rookie of the Year candidate Adolis Garcia, who has a club-best 29 home runs and 79 RBIs, leads the majors with five go-ahead homers in the eighth inning or later. … DJ Peters has 10 home runs in his last 27 games. … Rookie Joe Barlow, who has taken over closing duties for Texas, has limited opponents to a .132 batting average (10 for 76) and on Sunday registered his sixth save in seven opportunities with a 1-2-3 ninth against Oakland. His ERA in the majors over 222⁄3 innings is 1.59.