First pitch: Friday, 8:00 p.m. ET
Line: Texas +120, Houston -130, Total: 8

The Rangers and Astros continue to fight for the top position in the AL West when the teams meet in Houston on Friday.

The Rangers are coming off of a three-game sweep over the Athletics and they have now won 10 of their past 13 games. Texas has a lead over Houston in the AL West, but that could all slip away fast if the Astros are to win this series. Houston has really let things get away from it lately, losing nine of its past 13 games at the most important time of the year. The Astros will need to get it together soon and they’ll be confident in this one with LHP Scott Kazmir (7-10, 2.73 ERA, 151 K) going up against RHP Yovani Gallardo (12-11, 3.41 ERA, 112 K) of the Rangers. Texas, however, has gotten the best of Houston on the season. The Rangers are 12-4 against the Astros on the year and that includes a 4-2 record when the teams meet in Houston. One thing working in the Rangers’ favor is the fact that they are 15-3 against the money line in road games after three or more consecutive Overs in the past two seasons. Scott Kazmir’s teams, however, are 49-19 against the money line as a home favorite of -125 to -175 since 1997 with him on the mound. The Rangers are relatively healthy in this game, but OF Carlos Gomez is expected to be out for the Astros on Friday.

Yovani Gallardo has not been pitching his best recently, giving up eight earned runs on 15 hits over his past two starts. Those numbers wouldn’t be that horrendous if he was able to work deeper into games, but he has pitched a total of 9.1 innings in those starts. Gallardo has pitched six innings just twice in the past 10 starts and it would really help the Rangers if he can tally another longer outing on Friday. The last time he faced the Astros, Gallardo pitched just five innings and allowed three earned runs on four hits. Offensively, DH Prince Fielder (.302, 21 HR, 84 RBI) has not homered or driven in a run in the four straight games. He’ll need to break out of this slump fast, but he may not be feeling too confident that he will get that done on Friday. Fielder is just 3-for-21 with a homer and three RBI against Scott Kazmir in his career. That will really need to change on Friday or it will be tough for Texas to earn a big road victory. OF Shin-Soo Choo (.271, 18 HR, 72 RBI) has had some success against Kazmir, going 7-for-27 with a homer, three RBI and five walks in the matchup. He’ll need to get on base on Friday. Another guy who could help if he is healthy is OF Josh Hamilton (.253, 6 HR, 21 RBI). Hamilton has only been used as a pinch hitter recently, but he is 7-for-19 with two homers and six RBI against Kazmir. He was said to be running a lot better on Wednesday, so perhaps he’ll see some playing time earlier in the game in this one. His power could spark the team against a pitcher that has given some of the Rangers’ best batters trouble.

Like Gallardo, Scott Kazmir can have a lot of trouble working deeper into games. In two of his past five starts, Kazmir has pitched less than five innings. Fortunately for the Astros, he allowed three or less runs in both of those starts. The last time Kazmir faced the Rangers, though, he pitched seven innings and gave up just two earned runs while striking out four batters and walking just one. He’ll need to put forth a similar effort on Friday. One good sign for this Astros team has been the hitting of SS Carlos Correa (.278, 19 HR, 58 RBI). Correa had two RBI in Houston’s loss to the Angels on Wednesday. He now has a homer and five RBI in the past three games. OF George Springer (.262, 14 HR, 37 RBI) has also really gotten himself on track as of late. He has gotten a hit in eight of the past nine games and has a homer and six RBI in the past four contests. One guy that may be able to provide a spark for the Astros on Friday is OF Colby Rasmus (.233, 21 HR, 53 RBI). Rasmus has owned Gallardo in his career, going 7-for-22 with two doubles, two homers and four RBI in the matchup.