Detroit @ Texas preview
Choctaw Stadium
Last Meeting ( Sep 14, 2010 ) Detroit 4, Texas 11
The Texas Rangers look to take another step toward ending a long title drought when they host the Detroit Tigers in the finale of a two-game set on Wednesday.
In search of their first division title since 1999, the Rangers will be going for their seventh straight win while whittling at least one more game off their magic number, which currently stands at 10.
Texas took two games off its magic number on Tuesday with an 11-4 victory over Detroit. Paired with Oakland's 11-3 loss to Kansas City, the Rangers lead the Athletics by nine games in the American League West.
The Rangers and Tigers are both strong at home, but only one of them is playing for the postseason because of their ability to at least be respectable on the road.
Texas is 47-26 and Detroit is 47-28 at home - records among the best in the majors. However, the road is where the Tigers have really seen their season slip away. Texas is 34-37 away from home, while Detroit has really struggled and is just 25-45 with 11 more road games to go this season.
Colby Lewis (10-12, 3.86 ERA) will try to add to Detroit's road woes when he gets the start today for Texas. Lewis just snapped a nine-start winless streak on Thursday with a win over the Toronto Blue Jays.
Lewis had been winless since July 16 at Boston before allowing one run and five hits in 5 1/3 innings against the Blue Jays.
The 31-year-old right-hander has been the victim of spotty run support, as the Rangers have not scored more than four runs in any of his last 10 starts and have scored two runs or less seven times in that span.
Detroit has scratched Rick Porcello from today’s scheduled start and will send Armando Galarraga to the mound.
Porcello is out due to an injured right index finger that he said he strained while throwing a curveball during a start against the Chicago White Sox last Thursday. He earned his fourth straight victory in the 6-3 win over Chicago, but the injury worsened over the weekend.
Rangers slugger Josh Hamilton is expected to remain out of the line up as he battles bruised ribs. Hamilton took limited batting practice Tuesday for the first time since the end of August, but the session was shut down due to recurring pain from bruised ribs.
Hamilton missed his ninth straight game on Tuesday.