First pitch: Monday, 8:05 p.m. ET
Line: New York -110, Texas +100, Total: 9

The New York Yankees look to win their seventh straight series when they head to the Lone Star State and take on the Texas Rangers on Monday night.

The Yankees were treading water in the early parts of the season, going in and out of first place in what has become a mediocre division, but have found a great rhythm and are 7-2 since the All-Star break as they hold a 6.5-game lead over their closest divisional rivals; the Blue Jays. Most recently, they took on another tough competitor in the Twins over the weekend and were able to win two of the three contests, combining for 15 runs scored in the two victories. New York took the rubber-match of the set on Sunday by a score of 7-2 behind seven hits; four of which went for extra bases. A big contributor was 3B Chase Headley (.263) who had a homer and three RBIs and is 10-for-32 (.313) with nine RBIs in the nine games since the break. On the other side of the diamond, the Rangers continue to fall out of the AL West race, but have looked solid of late with wins in four of their last five games. All of those came on the road where they have played nine straight and followed up a series win in Colorado with victories in 2-of-3 games against the Angels. They failed to get the sweep against Los Angeles, though, with a big 13-7 loss on Sunday afternoon despite getting 12 hits and going 3-for-9 with RISP. One of the best hitters on the team since the break has been 2B Rougned Odor (.271), who is 16-for-40 (.400) with four homers, 10 RBIs and 11 runs. The pitching matchup in this one will feature RHP Ivan Nova (2-3, 3.34 ERA) of the Yankees as he faces LHP Matt Harrison (1-1, 5.40 ERA) of the host Texas group. New York bumped its road record to an even 25-25 on the year with its win on Sunday as it takes on these Rangers who are a meager 16-26 (.381) in front of their fans. Texas has gotten the best of the Yankees since the start of the 2013 campaign, going 10-7 in that time while posting a 4-3 record at home in that stretch. Trends show that New York is 38-23 (.623) when the money line is +125 to -125 this year as the Rangers are 29-17 (.630) after having won five or six of their last seven games in the past two years. Outfield depth in the form of OFs Mason Williams (Shoulder) and Slade Heathcott (Quad) are missing for the Yankees as 2B Jurickson Profar (Shoulder) remains out for the duration of 2015 for the home squad.

Nova successfully made the long trek back from Tommy John surgery and has been solid in his five starts since his return. Much of the success has come from batters hitting a putrid .253 BABIP against him which has led to a 4.82 FIP (Fielder Independent Pitching), showing that he is expected to regress. One of his issues has been minimal strikeouts (4.6 K/9) as he has already allowed four home runs in his 29.2 innings pitched (1.21 HR/9). He has struck out more than three batters just once in that time, but is coming off a quality start when he earned a win against the Orioles after going six innings of three-hit, two-run baseball with three strikeouts. He has gone 2-2 (2-3 team record) with a 4.80 ERA (1.43 WHIP) and did well (7 IP, 3 ER, 7 H, 4 K) when facing them in 2013. OF Josh Hamilton (6-for-10, 3 doubles) has had no issues when taking on Nova, while on the other hand, SS Elvis Andrus is hitless in eleven at-bats against the 28-year-old. The Yankees bullpen has gone 17-9 with a 3.38 ERA (1.17 WHIP) and is 32-for-39 (82%) in save chances while striking out 10.01 batters per nine innings as a group (2nd-best in MLB). Andrew Miller (1.57 ERA, 23 saves) has yet to blow a save on the year and is striking out a ton of batters (14.2 K/9) while holding 83.3% of runners on base.

After two huge seasons in 2011 and 2012, where Harrison combined to go 32-20 with an ERA lower than 3.40 each year, the lefty has tallied a mere eight starts since the start of 2012 as he is coming off his most recent injury; a spinal fusion surgery. He’s hit the mound twice since his return and is still on an innings pitch limit as he continues to get his arm back to where it was. Harrison was phenomenal in his last time out, going six shutout innings with seven hits allowed and two strikeouts in Colorado. Over his five outings against the Yanks, he is 2-2 (2-3 team record) with a 3.70 ERA (1.49 WHIP) and actually has more walks (11) than strikeouts (8) in his last three attempts. DH Alex Rodriguez will look to continue his huge comeback campaign as he is 5-for-12 with two doubles and five RBI against Harrison in his career. On the other hand, 1B Mark Teixeira (2-for-13, 2 doubles) and OF Jacoby Ellsbury (3-for-14) have struggled against the lefty. The relievers for the Rangers have been poor as a unit this year, going 15-14 with a league-worst 4.59 ERA (1.37 WHIP) and have been successful in 25-of-37 (68%) save opportunities. Shawn Tolleson (3.19 ERA, 17 saves) has just one blown save this year after beginning the season as the set-up man.