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Following a day off, the Texas Rangers begin a three-game set with the Toronto Blue Jays at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. LHP Derek Holland will face RHP Brandon Morrow. First pitch is at 7:05 p.m. on ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM and TXA-21. Here’s a closer look at the pitchers:

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Holland (3-3, 4.27 ERA): Holland looks to bounce back from his last start Saturday against the Houston Astros. He allowed five runs on five hits -- three of them were home runs -- in five innings during the 6-5 loss. …Holland is 1-1 with a 2.95 ERA in his last three starts, dropping his ERA from 5.13 to 4.27. … He pitched a complete game shutout on 95 pitches last season in his last matchup against the Blue Jays on July 30 at the Rogers Centre. … Holland is 2-1 with a 5.55 ERA in five games against the Blue Jays.

Morrow (5-2, 2.63 ERA): Morrow is off to an impressive start this season. In his last outing, he had a complete game shutout against the New York Mets on Saturday. … He’s 3-0 with a 0.63 ERA on the road in four starts with a .156 opponent batting average. … Morrow picked up a win in his last start against the Rangers on July 31 last season. He allowed two runs on six hits in seven innings and struck out 11. … In seven games against the Rangers, Morrow is 3-3 with a 5.46 ERA. … He’s 1-2 with a 7.71 ERA in four appearances at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. … Morrow’s ERA ranks sixth in the American League and his 0.96 WHIP is fourth best in the AL.

Hitters: Ian Kinsler (6-for-16), Michael Young (6-for-15), David Murphy (4-for-11) and Elvis Andrus (3-for-7) have been the most successful against Morrow. Nelson Cruz (1-for-13), Mike Napoli (2-for-14) and Josh Hamilton (2-for-9) have struggled. … The Blue jays have a .256 batting average and .329 slugging percentage against Holland. … The Blue Jays’ No. 3, 4 and 5 hitters Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion and J.P Arencibia are 6-for-23 against Holland with zero home runs and five strikeouts. … Adam Lind has the most hits on the Blue Jays off Holland (4-for-12).

Up Next:

Sat. vs. Tor.: RHP Colby Lewis (4-3, 3.30) vs. RHP Henderson Alvarez (3-4, 3.30), 2:05 p.m., ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM/1540/FSSW
Sun. vs. Tor.: RHP Yu Darvish (6-2, 3.05) vs. RHP Kyle Drabek (4-4, 3.27), 2:05 p.m., ESPN Dallas 103.3/1540/FSSW
Mon. vs. Sea.: LHP Matt Harrison (5-3, 4.72) vs. RHP Kevin Millwood (3-4, 3.72), 7:05 p.m., ESPN Dallas 103.3/1540/FSSW/MLB Network

It sounds ridiculous to suggest a homer drought for the guy who is leading the American League in homers, but Josh Hamilton hasn't homered since May 12 against the Los Angeles Angels. For him, that's a bit of a drought.

He's still hitting, though. Since that game, Hamilton is hitting .308 (12-for-39) with eight RBIs. But he doesn't have a homer in 11 straight games.

Hamilton has had long stretches without homers before. He went 20 games without one in the middle of last summer.

Still, Hamilton has 18 homers, half of those in one week earlier this month.

SEATTLE -- Texas Rangers starter Matt Harrison knew he was off in the first inning, but he kept his cool. Coupled with some great defensive plays, Harrison was able cruise from then on to collect his second win this month, a 3-1 victory over the Seattle Mariners.

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Rangers manager Ron Washington talks with Bryan Dolgin immediately following the Rangers 3-1 win in Seattle. Listen

Harrison ran into trouble early on after allowing his only two walks of the game. Alex Liddi got a free pass after a nine-pitch at-bat in the first and scored three batters later on a single by former Ranger Justin Smoak. Harrison followed that with an eight-pitch walk to load the bases with two outs, which brought pitching coach Mike Maddux out to the mound.

It took a one pitch, a 404-foot flyout from Casper Wells, to get Harrison out of the jam. Josh Hamilton made a leaping catch into the center field wall.

“I don’t what kind of catch he made, but he was able to run it down,” said Harrison, who threw 35 pitches in the first. “He’s an outstanding defensive player. It was great play to get me out of a jam. It could’ve been either way.”

Harrison said he thought he was overthrowing a bit during the inning, so he backed up on his fastball. He said it helped with his command and allowed him to settle in.

“I felt really good coming into the game,” Harrison said. “I felt like my arm felt the best today as it has all season.”

His defense was able to lend a helping hand. Harrison induced a double-play ball in the second to erase a leadoff single by Michael Saunders. And Hamilton made another leaping grab in the third, robbing Liddi of an extra base hit.

“He kept them in the big part of the field,” manger Ron Washington said. “It says 405 out there [in center field], but it plays like 445.”

Harrison said he had his best changeup of the season and was also able to work his curveball for strikes. Even with his first-inning struggles, Harrison was able to throw 75 of his 114 pitches for strikes and finished with six strikeouts.

“I thought he did a tremendous job after that first inning,” Washington said. “They fought him in that first inning pretty good and got his pitch count up. Then after that, he began to pound the strike zone.”

Washington left Harrison in the game in the eighth after he struck out Dustin Ackley to end the seventh, but Harrison gave up back-to-back singles to start the inning. Washington pulled Harrison with no outs, but Mike Adams came on and was able to leave Liddi and Ichiro Suzuki stranded on the bags.

“I had no doubt when I sent him out there and I had no doubt when I went and got him,” Washington said. “I felt good when I sent him out there. He was throwing the ball really good. It just didn’t work out.”

Washington will certainly take a one-run pitching performance, especially considering how it started and how Harrison's last two starts finished. Harrison lost his last two decisions before Tuesday’s game, allowing seven earned runs in 11 1/3 innings to the Oakland Athletics and Los Angeles Angels.

“I hope he understands what it takes to go deep in the ballgame,” Washington said. “That’s to make the opponents swing the bats and make that good defense behind you play.”

Matt Harrison pitched seven strong innings and Joe Nathan collected his 10th save as the Rangers evened the series with the Seattle Mariners at a game apiece with a 3-1 win Tuesday.

How it happened: Pitching was the key. Rangers starter Matt Harrison needed 35 pitches to get through a seven-batter first inning in which he gave up one run. Harrison needed just 26 pitches in the next three innings combined. He also had a stretch of nine straight batters retired end with a one-out double in the fifth inning. Harrison pitched into the eighth inning, and he left the game after giving up singles to the first two batters. Mike Adams inherited those two runners and retired the next three to hold the lead at 3-1. Joe Nathan closed the game for his 10th save.

PODCAST
Rangers manager Ron Washington talks with Bryan Dolgin immediately following the Rangers 3-1 win in Seattle. Listen

Seattle's finest: Harrison is now 7-1 in his career against the Mariners. His line Tuesday: 7-plus innings, seven hits, one run, two walks and six strikeouts on 114 pitches (75 for strikes). He is the Rangers' third five-game winner, joining Yu Darvish (6) and Robbie Ross (5).

Messing with Texas: Ichiro Suzuki’s first-inning single gave him 291 career hits against Texas, and his single in the eighth inning moved him past George Brett for the most hits against the Rangers.

Smoak signals: Former Ranger and current Mariner first baseman Justin Smoak drove in the Mariners' first-inning run with a single.

Not in the box score: Josh Hamilton made a great catch with his back to home plate while running down Casper Wells' drive on the warning track in center field to close out the bottom of the first inning and leave the bases filled with Mariners. Hamilton made another catch up against the center-field wall when Alex Liddi led off the third inning.

Walk through: Mariners starting pitcher Hector Noesi was perfect through two, but then he walked the leadoff man in the third and another Ranger with one out. Later that inning with two outs, Elvis Andrus drove in both of those walked batters with his third triple of the season.

In the box score: Hamilton swung on the first pitch following the Andrus two-RBI triple, and he delivered an RBI double for a 3-1 Rangers lead. Prior to that hit, Hamilton was 3-for-18 since his 16-game hitting streak.

Gold glove & off glove: Adrian Beltre made a sweet diving stop of Dustin Ackley’s grounder in the fifth for the second out, but Liddi followed with a grounder off Beltre’s glove for an error. Shockingly, Brendan Ryan, who moved up from second base to third base on that play, did not try to score as the ball rolled toward shallow left-center field. The score stayed at 3-1 with the Rangers leading.

HR drought: Ian Kinsler has not hit a home run in the last 24 games. He has just one RBI in his last 15 games.

Bullpen: Adams has appeared in five of the six games the Rangers played against the Mariners this season.

Rotation: The Rangers starting rotation stays in the same order, which means everyone gets an extra day of rest in between starts thanks to Thursday’s scheduled off day.

SEATTLE -- Even Josh Hamilton's wife noticed something was off during his recent at-bats.

After his hot start this month, including the four home-run performance against the Baltimore Orioles on May 8, Hamilton has been in a funk recently.

He went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts in Monday's game with Felix Hernandez on the mound. Hamilton is 3-for-17 in his last five games, with twice as many strikeouts (4) as RBIs (2). His batting average has dipped from .404 to .379 in that span.

"Honey, I know you're frustrated because you don't feel quite right right now," Hamilton's wife told him. "You're trying to do too much and swing at pitches you're not supposed to."

Hamilton said he was thinking too much at the plate and his pitch recognition was off because he wasn't squared up to pitchers.

“If you can’t recognize that, you get overly geared up or the opposite way where you’re not aggressive enough," Hamilton said.

Hamilton analyzed film Tuesday and noticed his stance was closed. His outside shoulder was slightly off and turned in. His left eye is his dominant eye, which is the back eye when he's at the plate. Hamilton said he wasn't looking with both eyes at the pitcher.

"It's amazing how something can be just a little bit off and it throws a bunch of stuff off," Hamilton said.

Hamilton said pitches that were 90 mph looked like they were 100 mph. He didn't think pitchers, including Hernandez, were throwing anything different in his at-bats. Hamilton said Hernandez was throwing hard inside and soft away. He struck out both times against Hernandez on pitches low and out of the strike zone.

"Until Josh stops swinging at it, why throw it in the zone?" Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "I don't see any pitches that pitchers are making that's causing Josh to do that. It's just sometimes Josh gets in that type of funk."

Washington recently said the only thing holding Hamilton back from the next level is discipline. He wants Hamilton to learn that on his own at the plate.

"If we try to create it then we take the aggressiveness away from Josh," Washington said. "For four or five days, you might see that, and then for four or five days he'll tear the cover off the ball. That's Josh."

Notes: Neftali Feliz's absence won't affect the Rangers' alignment of scheduled starters against the Blue Jays this weekend. Scott Feldman will pitch the series finale against the Mariners on Wednesday, and Derek Holland, Colby Lewis and Yu Darvish will pitch in the three-game set against Toronto.

As far as Feliz's replacement after this week, well, that's still to be determined.

"We haven't discussed anything beyond [Wednesday]," Washington said. "We'll have to figure it out."

The Rangers and Mariners play the first of a three-game series at Safeco Field on Monday night with Yu Darvish facing Felix Hernandez.

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Darvish (6-1, 2.60): This is the first time Darvish will meet an opponent for the second time. In the first meeting, Darvish's major league debut April 9, he allowed five earned runs over 5 2/3 innings in getting a victory. Darvish has 58 strikeouts in his first eight starts of the 2012 season, making him one of just six AL pitchers since 1984 to start a career with that many strikeouts. Darvish went 7 2/3 innings in his last start, Wednesday versus Oakland. Darvish struck out seven and allowed just one run on four hits.

Hernandez (3-3, 3.02): Hernandez is 1-1, with a 0.78 ERA this season at Safeco Field, where he's compiled 27 strikeouts over 23 innings. In his last start, Hernandez took a 9-3 loss at Cleveland, giving up eight runs, six earned, in 3 2/3 innings. He walked three and gave up 10 hits while throwing 103 pitches. He hasn't won a game since May 5 against Minnesota.

Texas hitters: Against Hernandez, Elvis Andrus is hitting .349, Michael Young .288 and Josh Hamilton .195.

Seattle hitters: Ichiro Suzuki is hitting .750 against Darvish, while Dustin Ackley and Chone Figgins are a combined 0-for-6.

HOUSTON -- The finale of Part I of the Silver Boot series goes to the Rangers, a 6-1 winner on Sunday afternoon over the Houston Astros.

Credit a five-run first inning and Colby Lewis with getting things done. Lewis ended a personal three-game losing streak with eight strong innings and was taken out after allowing a ninth-inning home run to Jed Lowrie to end the shutout and complete game bid.

Lewis with a solid effort: Right-hander Colby Lewis moved to 4-3 on the season with a wonderful pitching performance. He threw a season-high 123 pitches and allowed just one run on four hits through eight innings. It was Lewis' longest outing of the season. Lewis was given a five-run lead in the first inning and made it hold up. He retired 15 of 17 hitters in the middle innings and almost made everyone forget his personal three-game losing streak. The Rangers average 5.71 runs per game when he's on the mound and that trend continued Sunday.

First inning gets it started: Things got off fast for the Rangers against Astros starter Jordan Lyles. Josh Hamilton drove in the first run with a sac fly to center and then a pair of two-run singles from Nelson Cruz and Colby Lewis, yeah, Colby Lewis, pushed the lead to 5-0. Lewis, while excellent on the mound, was just as good at the plate, getting two hits, both singles and driving in two runs. It's the third time in interleague play a Ranger pitcher has produced a multi-RBI game. Darren Oliver was the first Ranger to do it, June 18, 1997 against Colorado and Lewis, who has now done it twice. Lewis first got it done on June 13, 2010 versus Milwaukee. Lewis has also produced the third two-hit game by a Rangers pitcher since the start of interleague play. Chan Ho Park and Lewis have done it.

Silver Boot stuff: While the Rangers took their first series since taking two-of-three from Los Angeles of Anaheim (May 11-13), the Silver Boot will remain in Arlington until the teams meet again June 15-17. The Rangers have won eight of the last 11 meetings between the teams and is 11-4 in the series since 2010. Houston hasn't won a series over Texas since June 24-26, 2008.

Notes: Ian Kinsler has struck out six times the last two games. Saturday night he struck out four times and twice on Sunday. Kinsler did, however, single to leadoff the game and eventually score. ... The 113,261 fans who attended the three-game set is the largest in the Silver Boot series since 2007. ... It didn't seem as if Nelson Cruz (tight quad) had any problems running around the bases. he ran hard with little problems after getting a seventh-inning single. Cruz went 2-for-4 with 2 RBI. ... Elvis Andrus' two hits continued his team lead with 17 multi-hit games this season. Andrus has 12 games with at least two hits. ... Adrian Beltre caught a pop fly that maybe hit one of the support beams in the roof at Minute Maid Park. A popup by Brian Bogusevic in the first seemed to hit one of the support beams high above the third base dugout. After Beltre caught the ball he smiled and said something to Lewis, to maybe indicate something weird happened. Astros manager Brad Mills came out to ask the umpiring crew to talk about it, which they did but they ruled the ball was clean.

What's next?: Rangers start a three-game set at Seattle with a good matchup in Game 1. Yu Darvish takes on Felix Hernandez. It's the first opponent the Rangers meet in a series for the second time.

HOUSTON -- Right-handed reliever Mike Adams has missed the first two games of the Rangers-Astros series with a respiratory infection. Adams said Sunday morning he feels better and is ready to pitch, but manager Ron Washington wants to give him one more day off.

"If we can stay away from him, we will," Washington said.

If Adams is out, Washington will use Koji Uehara, who has a 10 1/3 scoreless inning streak going.

It was a serious health issue for Adams who went to an area urgent care clinic on Friday afternoon and didn't get to the ballpark until 30 minutes before first pitch.

"I'm getting better," Adams said. "I told [the coaching staff] I'm good to go. It was kinda bad. I never had a respiratory infection before. It was zapping all my energy."

Adams said he had some shortness of breath and was checked for pneumonia.

"I feel a helluva lot better than I did the last four days," he said.

Notes: Nelson Cruz is starting in right field today after coming out of the ninth inning on Saturday night due to tightness in his right quad. Cruz and Washington don't believe the leg is a big deal. Washington said he wanted more speed in the outfield as the reason for taking Cruz out and inserting Craig Gentry in center, Brandon Snyder in left and moving Josh Hamilton from center to right in the ninth inning.

"It's good," Cruz said of his quad. Later he added, "Sometimes I don't feel it at all. Game starts, I feel it because I got to get a little more loose." Cruz said he's getting treatment and doing stretching exercises to keep his legs loose.

Closer Joe Nathan is available to pitch after getting Saturday night off. Nathan had pitched four consecutive days. Reliever Alexi Ogando will not pitch because he went two innings Saturday. Robbie Ross, the lone lefty in the bullpen, will pitch today if needed. ... Washington said Mike Napoli will catch Yu Darvish Monday night in Seattle. Yorvit Torrealba starts at catcher today. ... Adrian Beltre could move to DH when the Rangers go to Seattle.

HOUSTON -- There was an interesting omission from the Texas Rangers defense late in Saturday's 6-5 loss to the Houston Astros. Right fielder Nelson Cruz wasn't in the outfield for the last defensive inning.

He was taken out as a precaution with a tight right quad, and manager Ron Washington wanted some speed in the outfield. He moved center fielder Josh Hamilton to right in the eighth because he was due to bat in the top of the ninth inning. Craig Gentry, a late-game pinch hitter, played center, and Brandon Snyder, another late-game pinch hitter, played left.

Washington said it wasn't anything serious with Cruz, but noticed something was bothering him earlier in the game.

Cruz downplayed his health issue saying he's been battling it for some time.

"Just tightness, nothing big," Cruz said. "It's the right one, it's nothing big. I've been playing [with it] the last three games."

Health isn't the only thing Cruz is battling. He failed to deliver in the top of the eighth inning with his club down a run. With runners at first and second and none out, Cruz hit a liner to right for the first out.

"It wasn't productive," Washington said.

"I just tried to drive the ball and move the runner. That was my approach," Cruz said. "Move the runner, but I hit a flyball deep and I missed my pitch."

Coming into the game, Cruz was hitting .256 with runners in scoring position with a team-high 14 strikeouts in 43 at-bats.

He said he's not pressing in those situations because he's had success in the past as evidenced by his 17 RBIs.

"If I get five at-bats, I want to get five hits," Cruz said of hitting with RISP. "My approach is going to be the same. I've been there before. I know what to do."

HOUSTON -- The Texas Rangers blew an early four-run lead and had a rally fall just a run short in a 6-5 loss to the Houston Astros on Saturday night at Minute Maid Park.

Lefty Derek Holland, in his first starting appearance in eight days, had a four-run lead, but gave up a season-high three home runs and took the loss. The Rangers' biggest highlight was a David Murphy inside-the-park home run in the third that drove in three runs to give the Rangers a 4-0 lead.

Holland loses lead: Holland last started May 10 at Baltimore. He then pitched one inning in relief May 14 and had a bullpen session a few days later. Holland said he wasn't working on anything specifically and the extended rest shouldn't bother him. He pitched well early until the middle innings. With a 4-1 lead, Holland walked Justin Maxwell to start the fourth inning. Carlos Lee hammered a fastball to left for a home run to cut the deficit to 4-3. In the fifth, Holland gave up a two-out single to Jose Altuve and Maxwell hit a homer off a belt-high pitch to left, giving the Astros a 5-4 lead. Holland left after five innings. He gave up five earned runs on five hits and two walks. He struck out six.

Late rally shut down: The Rangers cut a two-run deficit to one when Josh Hamilton drove in Elvis Andrus on a sacrifice fly to right in the seventh inning. The Rangers tried to get a rally going in the eighth. Michael Young and Brandon Snyder reached on singles to start the inning. Reliever Brandon Lyon was brought in to minimize the damage. He got Nelson Cruz to fly out to right and Mike Napoli hit into what was almost a 4-6-3 double play. Instead, Napoli was ruled out at first but Snyder was safe at second when shortstop Jed Lowrie came off the bag too early on the relay throw from second baseman Altuve. Pinch hitter Craig Gentry ended the inning with a flyout to center.

The bullpen: Closer Joe Nathan appeared to be unavailable after pitching four consecutive days for the first time since undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2010. Setup man Mike Adams was also unavailable because he's still recovering from a respiratory infection. It left manager Ron Washington to use Alexi Ogando, Mark Lowe and Koji Uehara as the setup men. Robbie Ross was available for at least one hitter after pitching Friday night. Ogando appeared in the sixth inning, relieving Holland. He allowed one run on two hits in two innings of work. Lowe pitched a scoreless eighth. He's allowed just one run the last nine games.

Hamilton in homerless string: Hamilton hasn't hit a home run the last seven games, his longest drought of the season. No biggie. Hamilton still leads the majors with 18 home runs. Hamilton had a six-game stretch where he hit nine home runs. When his night was over, Hamilton was 0-3.

Murphy hits inside-the-park home run: Murphy's third-inning inside-the-park home run was the first of his career and the 23rd in franchise history. Murphy sent a shot to right-center field where right fielder Maxwell missed a diving catch. Murphy beat the throw home easily. It was Murphy's first inside-the-park homer of his career and first for the Rangers since Gentry did it Sept. 23, 2011.

Notes: The Rangers started the season 15-4 but since then have gone just 10-12, including a 8-10 mark in May. ... Because of pinch hitters, the Rangers moved Hamilton to right field in the ninth inning.

Next: The Rangers and Astros play the finale of the Silver Boot series at Minute Maid Park. Colby Lewis takes on Jordan Lyles at 1:05 p.m.

HOUSTON --The Texas Rangers got a gutty and sloppy pitching effort from Neftali Feliz and some timely hitting to beat the Houston Astros, 4-1, in Game 1 of the Silver Boot series at Minute Maid Park on Friday night.

How it happened: It wasn't the best night for Feliz, but the Rangers bats helped him out early. Adrian Beltre drove in the first of his two runs with a sacrifice fly to center to bring in Ian Kinsler for the first run of the game in the third inning. Nelson Cruz added to the lead with an RBI single to center. In the fifth, the Rangers added one more run on an RBI double by Michael Young, who seems to have broken out of his slump with two hits and a walk. Beltre closed the deal with a solo shot to left field, that if not for that wall in left center, might have landed in Huntsville.

Long night for Feliz: Feliz was chastized by the manager, walked the No. 8 and No. 9 hitters and threw 84 pitches through four innings. When the Rangers starter's night was done, he had thrown 101 pitches in 4 2/3 innings and for a no-decision. Feliz battled trouble all night and couldn't control his fastball. he walked five, hit one batter and allowed just one run on three hits. He also struck out six. Feliz drew the ire of manager Ron Washington in the fourth inning when he walked pitcher Wandy Rodriguez with two outs. Washington jogged to the mound and after a one-sided conversation, headed back to the dugout. Feliz then struck out Jordan Schafer on three pitches. But Washington had seen enough to pull Feliz in the fifth after two more walks sandwiched around two outs. Rookie Robbie Ross retired Brian Bogusevic on a fielder's choice to end the inning. With Feliz out, Ross became the pitcher of record.

Young gets a hit: It's been a tough stretch for Young. He finished the Rangers' seven-game homestand with just four hits in 27 at-bats. He was hitless in his last 11 at-bats until a second-inning single to center ended the string. For the night, Young went 2-for-3 with a walk, a double and an RBI. Before the game, Washington said Young will stay in the lineup and he felt his veteran utility man would break out of his slump. He was right and don't expect Young to sit tomorrow against a right-hander, Lucas Harrell, for Mitch Moreland.

Beltre on a tear: Third baseman Beltre has reached base in his last nine games. Friday night he went 2-for-3 with his eighth home run of the season, a blast to left center. Beltre is 12-for-46 during the last nine games with two doubles and two home runs. In the last 21 games, Beltre has six home runs, five doubles and 18 RBIs.

Joe Nathan gets the save: For the first time since 2009, closer Nathan pitched for a fourth consecutive game. Nathan, who picked up his ninth save, had uneventful ninth inning, including a strikeout to end the game. He has two saves in his last four outings and hasn't allowed a run since May 13. Sept. 13-16, Nathan went four consecutive games for the Minnesota Twins, registering three saves during that time.

Notes: Rangers fans were in full force at Minute Maid Park on Friday night. There was a "Let's Go Rangers" chant in the eighth inning. ... Rangers are now 136-131 all-time in interleague play. ... Rangers are 62-72 in NL parks. ... When Feliz pitches, the Rangers normally do well, they're 5-2 in his starts in 2012. ... Friday night was the Rangers' 14th series of the 2012 season which marked the 14th different opponent. When the Rangers begin a three-game set at Seattle on Monday, it will be the first time they've seen an opponent a second time. ... Yu Darvish will speak with reporters Saturday afternoon. ... With Mike Adams unavailable, Koji Uehara took his spot as the setup man in the eighth. He struck out one in a scoreless inning. ... Kinsler was knocked down by a pitch that sailed over his head in the ninth inning by reliever Rhiner Cruz. Kinsler flew out to deep left field and when he got back to the dugout, slammed his helmet into a cubbie hole. Cruz then hit the next batter, Elvis Andrus, who promptly stole second. ... Josh Hamilton, who had a 16-game hitting streak snapped Thursday afternoon, began a new one with a single in the third.

Next: Rangers-Astros play Game 2 of the Silver Boot series at Minute Maid Park. Derek Holland takes on Lucas Harrell at 6:15 p.m.

HOUSTON -- Texas Rangers closer Joe Nathan has pitched the last three games and is most likely available for Friday night's game at the Houston Astros.

Nathan has gone three innings over the last three games with five strikeouts, posting a 0.71 ERA. He is tied for fourth in the AL with eight saves.

"I haven't talked to him yet, but if there's a closing situation, you will see Nathan," Rangers manager Ron Washington said before the game.

Washington said reliever Mike Adams is not available to pitch. He's thrown 11 pitches the last two days, including six Thursday in taking the loss to the Oakland A's.

Washington said Koji Uehara will replace Adams out of the bullpen in the late innings. Uehara extended his scoreless streak to 9 1/3 innings with a scoreless eighth inning Tuesday night vs. Kansas City. He hasn't allowed a run since giving up a home run April 21 at Detroit. He leads AL pitchers with a 15-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Michael Young, baring a sudden change, will play all three games in this NL park.

Young is slumping.

He's hitless in his last 11 at bats and went .148 on the just completed seven-game homestand.

Washington said it's not a hard decision to keep Young in the lineup and play first base despite what Mitch Moreland is doing.

Moreland hit .429 over the last seven games, with eight RBIs and three home runs.

"I'm not taking Michael out of the lineup," Washington said. Later he said, "he's going to come out of this. He just doesn't look very comfortable and that happens, and sometimes you can't find that spot in that box to get comfortable. It's like most things, when you're talking about a tremendous guy that has a great eye-hand coordination. It could happen today."

Starter Derek Holland said he had one bullpen session this week and feels good about his start Saturday night against Lucas Harrell. Holland said he couldn't remember how many pitches he threw in the session but didn't work on anything specifically.

Nolan Ryan and Josh Hamilton were sought after people by the Houston media.

Ryan said he's happy to see the Astros playing much better than last year and follows them every game.

Hamilton said it was good to have a day off and even noted, "I slept in a little bit and I came in and I relaxed a little bit and didn't have to rush and get a routine in."

On his 16-game hitting streak ending after he came in as a pinch-hitter Thursday: "I didn't know what type of hitting streak I was on."

Hamilton said Nathan informed him the streak was over.

"Whatever, show up and play," Hamilton said.

HOUSTON -- The Texas Rangers begin their defense of the Silver Boot, taking on the Houston Astros in a three-game series at Minute Maid Park. After getting the day off Thursday, the sizzling Josh Hamilton returns to the lineup.

Here are the lineups:

Rangers
2B Ian Kinsler
SS Elvis Andrus
LF Josh Hamilton
3B Adrian Beltre
1B Michael Young
RF Nelson Cruz
C Mike Napoli
CF Craig Gentry
P Neftali Feliz

Astros
CF Jordan Schafer
2B Jose Altuve
LF J.D. Martinez
1B Carlos Lee
SS Jed Lowrie
RF Brian Bogusevic
3B Chris Johnson
C Jason Castro
P Wandy Rodriguez

ARLINGTON, Texas – Rangers closer Joe Nathan offered Josh Hamilton a little consolation after Thursday’s loss to the A’s.

“That’s all right, dog, you can start another one,” Nathan said to Hamilton.

Hamilton’s response: “What are you talking about?”

Um, that 16-game hitting streak that was snapped with an 0-for-2 day off the bench. It was the longest active hitting streak in the big leagues and the longest in the American League this season. But it was not a big deal to Hamilton, who leads the AL in the Triple Crown categories with a .399 average, 18 homers and 45 RBIs.

“I didn’t know what it was at,” Hamilton said. “I didn’t care was what it was at. … I just don’t worry about it. I’m not going to lose any sleep over it.”

Hamilton, who is coming off one of the best weeks in big league history with nine homers and 18 RBIs last week, definitely hasn’t looked tired. However, he said looks can be deceiving and was grateful to get at least most of the day off.

Hamilton came off the bench to pinch-hit for Craig Gentry to lead off the bottom of the eighth and grounded out to shortstop Cliff Pennington, who was playing up the middle in the A’s shift. Hamilton lined out to Pennington in the same spot to lead off the bottom of the 10th.

Washington wanted to give Hamilton a full day off, but he said before the game that he wasn’t going to have Hamilton sitting on the bench in a potential game-winning situation.

“I’m not disappointed because one swing of the bat right there, he could have won the game for us,” Washington said. “Opportunity presented itself and I did it.”

Now Hamilton heads to Houston with the opportunity to start another hitting streak.

ARLINGTON, Texas – One gut-buster apparently isn’t enough for Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.

The Boomstick, the loaded, two-foot, one-pound hot dog introduced this season, has been a big enough success for a spinoff to be created. Beware, The Great Bratbino is coming soon.

Delaware North Companies Sportservice, the food, beverage and retail partner of the Rangers, announced that the king-sized bratwurst will be sold beginning with the team’s next homestand. It’s a two-foot, one-pound bratwurst that will come standard with sauerkraut and can be topped with chili, nacho cheese, grilled onions and jalapenos, much like The Boomstick.

The $26 Boomstick, by the way, is now being offered as part of a combo meal with two one-liter bottles of Coca-Cola at Section 42 in the ballpark.

The Boomstick was named in honor of Nelson Cruz, or his bat, at least. The Great Bratbino is meant to be a tip of the cap to Josh Hamilton, aka the Hambino.