Allard expected to start for the Rangers against Astros

Updated Jul. 23, 2021 3:20 a.m. ET

Associated Press

Texas Rangers (35-62, fifth in the AL West) vs. Houston Astros (58-39, first in the AL West)

Houston; Friday, 8:10 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Rangers: Kolby Allard (2-7, 4.06 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 62 strikeouts) Astros: Jake Odorizzi (3-5, 4.09 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 45 strikeouts)

LINE: Astros -240, Rangers +199; over/under is 9 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Texas Rangers head to play the Houston Astros on Friday.

The Astros are 31-20 in home games in 2020. Houston has hit 124 home runs as a team this season. Jose Altuve leads them with 23, averaging one every 14.9 at-bats.

The Rangers are 13-37 on the road. Texas is slugging .374 as a unit. Adolis Garcia leads the team with a slugging percentage of .500.

The Astros won the last meeting 8-4. Zack Greinke secured his seventh victory and Chas McCormick went 2-for-4 with two home runs and three RBIs for Houston. Jordan Lyles took his fifth loss for Texas.

TOP PERFORMERS: Yordan Alvarez leads the Astros with 60 RBIs and is batting .282.

Garcia leads the Rangers with 62 RBIs and is batting .262.

LAST 10 GAMES: Astros: 4-6, .202 batting average, 3.99 ERA, outscored by six runs

Rangers: 1-9, .161 batting average, 7.22 ERA, outscored by 50 runs

INJURIES: Astros: Justin Verlander: (elbow), Jose Urquidy: (arm), Andre Scrubb: (shoulder), Brooks Raley: (health and safety protocols), Enoli Paredes: (shoulder), Josh James: (hip), Kent Emanuel: (elbow), Pedro Baez: (right shoulder), Aledmys Diaz: (hand), Alex Bregman: (hamstring).

Rangers: Hunter Wood: (elbow), Jose Leclerc: (elbow), John King: (shoulder), Jonathan Hernandez: (elbow), Kyle Cody: (right shoulder), Matt Bush: (elbow), Kohei Arihara: (finger), Willie Calhoun: (forearm), Ronald Guzman: (knee), Jose Trevino: (forearm).

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.