ARLINGTON, Texas -- The Texas Rangers welcome the Houston Astros to town for a three-game series. A few things to watch:
| PODCAST |
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| Rangers play-by-play voice Eric Nadel dishes on Josh Hamilton's illness, the Silver Boot series against the Astros and more. Listen  |
* Offense. The Rangers' offense is not clicking and hasn't for about five weeks now. They've hit around .250 in that time and it seems as if everyone has slumped at the same time. Are the Astros the kind of team that can help give that offense a spark?
* Josh Hamilton. He's hitting just .196 in June with one homer and five RBIs. He was AL player of the month in April and May. For a club that's offensively challenged right now, they need the 2010 MVP.
* Sellouts. The club has standing room only seats for Friday and Saturday and just 1,500 seats left for Sunday, so a series full of sellouts is probable. The Rangers, as you would expect, play better in front of larger crowds.
* Justin Grimm. The Double-A pitcher makes his big league debut Saturday at 6:15 p.m. at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. Grimm has pitched well in Frisco and has confidence. It should be fun to see what he can do.
Richard Durrett
ESPNDallas.com
ABOUT THIS BLOG
Richard Durrett
Richard Durrett joined ESPNDallas.com in September 2009. He writes about colleges, the Dallas Stars and the Texas Rangers. Richard spent nine years at The Dallas Morning News covering the Rangers, Stars, colleges, motorsports and high schools.
Tim MacMahon
Tim MacMahon joined ESPNDallas.com in September 2009. Tim covers the Cowboys and Mavericks. He has covered the local sports scene from high schools to colleges to pros during his six-year tenure at The Dallas Morning News. MacMahon is a graduate of UNT.
103.3 FM ESPN PODCASTS
Play Podcast Jim Bowden joins Fitzsimmons & Durrett for his weekly visit to discuss a hypothetical Jurickson Profar for Cliff Lee trade, how he would handle Profar's playing time with the Rangers and more.
Play Podcast Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus joins Galloway & Company to discuss having Scott Boras as his agent, his new contract and having Jurickson Profar in the lineup.
Play Podcast Rangers manager Ron Washington joins Fitzsimmons & Durrett for his weekly visit to discuss Yu Darvish's pitch count and how he spends time in the clubhouse during weather delays.
Play Podcast Nolan Ryan joins Galloway & Company for his weekly visit to discuss the latest Rangers news.
Play Podcast Reid Ryan joins Fitzsimmons & Durrett to discuss his new position with the Houston Astros and whether he could see his dad, Nolan, joining him there in the future.
Play Podcast ESPN MLB Insider Jayson Stark joins Fitzsimmons & Durrett to discuss if the Rangers are the best team in baseball, what makes them so good and if he thinks the team will trade Jurickson Profar.
Play Podcast Jim Bowden joins Fitzsimmons & Durrett to discuss Ron Washington's decision to send Yu Darvish to the mound for the eighth inning Thursday night and how he would handle a situation like that if he were still a GM.
Play Podcast Randy Galloway, Matt Mosley and Glenn "Stretch" Smith discuss the latest Rangers news, including the Yu Darvish-Justin Verlander matchup.
UPCOMING GAMES
| W-L | HM | AW | STK | L10 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEX | 31-17 | 15-7 | 16-10 | W2 | |
| SEA | 20-28 | 11-10 | 9-18 | L7 |
| W-L | HM | AW | STK | L10 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEX | 31-17 | 15-7 | 16-10 | W2 | |
| SEA | 20-28 | 11-10 | 9-18 | L7 |
| W-L | HM | AW | STK | L10 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEX | 31-17 | 15-7 | 16-10 | W2 | |
| ARI | 27-21 | 13-11 | 14-10 | W1 |
TEAM LEADERS
| WINS LEADER | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Yu Darvish
|
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| OTHER LEADERS | ||||||||||||
| BA | I. Kinsler | .302 | ||||||||||
| HR | N. Cruz | 11 | ||||||||||
| RBI | N. Cruz | 34 | ||||||||||
| R | E. Andrus | 30 | ||||||||||
| OPS | M. Moreland | .908 | ||||||||||
| ERA | Y. Darvish | 2.84 | ||||||||||
| SO | Y. Darvish | 91 | ||||||||||
- There are no games scheduled for today.
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