The Texas Rangers and the Houston Astros meet this weekend for the first time since their epic and heated seven-game battle in October’s American League Championship Series.
The teams had battled for the AL West lead all season, with Houston taking the division during the regular season’s final weekend. The Astros entered the final two games of the ALCS needing just one win to advance to another World Series, but the Rangers continued to excel on the road and rallied through adversity and trash-talk to win two in a row on their way to a World Series championship.
“When you play rivals, it’s always a little chirpy out there,” Rangers shortstop and reigning World Series MVP Corey Seager told The Dallas Morning News. “People are going to be on edge. But you are always trying to win, get a leg up. So, we need to be ready to play in the moment and come out with a series win.”
In the offseason, both teams emphasized building their bullpens, which, particularly for Texas, had struggled until the playoff run. While it is still extremely early in the season, the investments are paying off in most cases, as both squads are among the top 10 teams in the MLB in bullpen ERA.
The two Texas teams will play 13 games against each other as part of the Lone Star Series this season after facing each other 19 times in each of the last 10 seasons. The winner of the series will take home the Silver Boot for the 23rd season, going back to the inception of interleague play in 2001 when the Astros were members of the National League.
The first game of this weekend’s four-game series begins at 7:05 p.m. CT on Friday. Cody Bradford (1-0, 3.60 ERA) will take the mound against Houston’s Hunter Brown (0-0, 0.00), and the Rangers will debut a Whataburger stand at the ballpark.
The Rangers (4-2) lead the AL West after taking two of three in each series against the Chicago Cubs and Tampa Bay Rays to start the season, while the Astros (2-5) rebounded from a season-opening sweep against the New York Yankees to win two of three against the Toronto Blue Jays this week.
According to the Rangers PR department, the roof at Globe Life Field will be open on Friday night for the first time this season.
