Milwaukee @ Texas preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 27, 2016 ) Milwaukee 4, Texas 6

Carlos Gomez and Jonathan Lucroy are having a fun time re-introducing themselves to their former team. The pair looks to continue their rude greeting to their ex-mates on Wednesday as the American League West champion Texas Rangers vie for an interleague series victory over the visiting Milwaukee Brewers.

Gomez, who spent parts of six seasons with Milwaukee, belted a three-run homer in Tuesday's 6-4 triumph and has recorded five multi-hit performances in his last nine contests. Lucroy, who was acquired from the Brewers on Aug. 1, ripped a two-run double on Tuesday as Texas (93-65) moved a half-game ahead of Boston (92-65) and 1 1/2 in front of Cleveland (91-66) in the race for homefield advantage. Milwaukee's Jonathan Villar is 5-for-8 with two homers, five RBIs and four runs scored in the series and recorded his 60th steal on Tuesday, becoming the first player since Carl Crawford (2009) to collect 15 homers and 60 thefts in the same season. The 25-year-old Dominican has six hits in his last three games on the heels of a 1-for-22 stretch in his previous eight.

TV: 8:05 p.m. ET, FSN Wisconsin (Milwaukee), FSN Southwest (Texas)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Brewers RH Chase Anderson (9-11, 4.36 ERA) vs. Rangers LH Cole Hamels (15-5, 3.30)

Anderson owns a 2-0 mark with just three runs on 17 hits allowed in his last four starts. The 28-year-old yielded one run on four hits in 5 2/3 innings versus Pittsburgh on Thursday and has surrendered more than two earned runs on only one occasion in his last 11 starts. Anderson takes a 2-6 road mark into Texas, against which he permitted just one run on three hits in seven innings of a no-decision in his lone encounter.

Hamels helped the Rangers clinch the AL West with his first win since Aug. 25 on Friday, scattering six hits over seven innings in a 3-0 victory at Oakland. The 32-year-old has enjoyed considerable success versus Milwaukee dating back to his days in the National League while pitching for Philadelphia, posting a 7-3 mark while limiting the club to a .240 batting average. Hamels has struggled against Ryan Braun as the 2011 NL MVP is hitting .353 against the hurler and is expected to return to the lineup for the series finale after sitting out with a sore wrist.

WALK-OFFS

1. Texas SS Elvis Andrus is 11-for-24 with three homers in his last seven games.

2. Milwaukee RF Domingo Santana has three hits and as many RBIs in the series.

3. Rangers 2B Rougned Odor is 0-for-22 with six strikeouts in his last six contests.

PREDICTION: Rangers 3, Brewers 1