Now that the All-Star Break is over, the Texas Rangers travel to Houston to take on the Astros. With a terrific start at home and a strong pitching staff, it’s becoming difficult to travel to Minute Maid Park and pick up victories. Watch the Rangers play the Astros on the road by booking Houston flights through Hipmunk.com. Enjoy a new city for a long weekend by reserving Houston hotels through Hipmunk as well, including eight options starting from under $100. The Astros, like the Texas Rangers, finished weakly at the break and have fallen a half game behind the Angels for the division lead.
The Rangers go into Houston with the return of Martin Perez tonight, which is a big deal. I don’t expect him to be as sharp as he will be eventually tonight, but I do expect him to pitch well while he is in there. Perez was doing great last season before he went down and eventually needed Tommy John surgery, and I for one am excited to see him pitch tonight. As mentioned, my expectations are very limited for him, but, just like Matt Harrison, it will be good to see Perez back on the mound tonight.
The Texas Rangers fell to 42-46 at the break, and they need to pick it up starting off in the second half. The Mariners are not that far behind the Rangers for third place, and the Rangers are now 6 games behind the Angels. A sweep against the Astros would be huge, but I would take a series win at this point. The Rangers need players like Adrian Beltre, Delino Deshields, Prince Fielder and Mitch Moreland to be productive, and they need Josh Hamilton to just show up and get on base and stay healthy. The team seems to be gelling together pretty well, now they just need to find a consistent way to win series and get back in the race. If they get swept by Houston this weekend, they are not out of the race, but they will make it very difficult on themselves to get back in. Here is to Perez getting the Texas Rangers back on track tonight!