Lone Star Series: Three Keys to the Rangers/Astros First Series of the 2026 Season
The first Lone Star series is upon us, and both the Texas Rangers and Houston Astros come into Daikin Park in Houston, Texas, hungry and desperate to get on the winning side of the column. The Rangers and the Astros share this little-brother-big-brother relationship, more now than ever, due to the 2023 ALCS, where Texas beat Houston in seven games and later became the World Series Champions. It’s always fun to sit down and watch these intra-division teams try to get the best of each other, and the fans should expect a little back-and-forth jawing and some great offense and defense. Both these teams come into this series starting on May 15th through the 17th with sub .500 records, trailing the Seattle Mariners and Athletics in the American League West. It’ll be interesting to see how these teams play, as Houston is having an abnormal start to the season due to injuries and a struggling bullpen, leading to them having a home record of 9-11 early on in the season. The Rangers are somewhat dominant on the road, but still sit at a 10-12 record in away games this season.
The first thing to look out for is the pitching divide. Contrary to last year, Texas’ bullpen as a whole has been great this season, entering the series with a respectable 3.59 ERA, with that average dominated by Jacob deGrom. DeGrom carries an ERA of 2.62 early on this season, and has been nothing but excellent, with the offense replicating his success when he starts, scoring runs and keeping leads; something that was hard to come by last year. On the other hand, the Astros come into this series with a league-worst 5.67 ERA, with the lone bright spot in the rotation being Hunter Brown, who has an extremely impressive 0.84 ERA; it's the back end of the rotation that’s hurting the pitching game. Cristian Javier totes a 12.54 ERA, Tatsuya Imai carries a 7.27 ERA, and Lance McCullers Jr. has a 6.75 ERA. Houston's bullpen has seen heavy usage due to short starts from the rotation, leading to inflated numbers for several of their arms. The massive gap between Brown and the rest of the rotation is a huge story for the series. If the Rangers can force the Astros into their bullpen early, Texas will have a significant advantage this weekend.
The opposite can be said about the Rangers' bullpen. The relievers have been exceptional this season despite injuries to well-known pitchers like Chris Martin and Robert Garcia, who are currently having some setbacks in their rehab. Some names that baseball fans may not be familiar with are Peyton Gray, who, in seven games this season, posts a sub-1.00 ERA, with six walks, eight strikeouts, and allowing a low opponent batting average of .200. Tyler Alexander has been the most used reliever for Skip Schumaker and his team, toting a strong 2.25 ERA, and a 1-0 record in 19 games. Jalen Beeks has appeared in 19 games as well, with an ERA of 2.50 on the season. The last unknown player that is making his name known in Arlington is Gavin Collyer, the rookie who carried a perfect ERA before May 12th, where, due to an unfortunate outing, his average rose to 2.79, but it is still a great stat as he’s been nothing but near perfect until recently and is continuing to improve and impress this season.
The second thing to look out for in this series is the game plan the Rangers will come up with against the all-feared YordanÁlvarez. Despite Houston’s record, the three-time all-star remains the most feared power threat in the division. He’s currently hitting over .300 on the season, with 13 home runs and 29 runs batted in. His power and presence can make a game flip on its head, and he’s proven it over and over again. As great as the 2022 World Series Champion has been in the batter's box, the Rangers have done the same on the mound, as mentioned earlier. Texas, throughout Álvarez’s career in Houston, has tried to neutralize him with pitch mixups and off-speed sequencing. Whether the Rangers choose to pitch to him or lean on intentional walks in high-leverage spots will be one of the deciding factors for at least one game this weekend.
Lastly, the injuries and how they’re affecting both these teams. The Rangers have their fair share of injuries on their list: Nathan Eovaldi and Josh Smith highlight the top of it, and the aforementioned Martin and Garcia are struggling to get back on the mound. Someone to note is outfielder Brandon Nimmo, who’s had some lingering lower-body injuries as of late but seems to be good enough to get on the field. While Smith is out, the Swiss Army Knife infielder and outfielder Ezequiel Duran has made the most of this opportunity and has continued to be a lockdown player all over the field and in the batter’s box. In terms of the Astros, their fair share of injuries has decimated the team. Big names like Jeremy Peña, Carlos Correa, and Yanier Diaz top their list and are deeply missed. Peña has a couple of injuries going for him right now, with a grade one hamstring strain lingering and a neck injury he suffered during a rehab game, keeping him on the injured list for the foreseeable future. Correa is unfortunately out for the season as he underwent surgery on May 11th to repair a left ankle tendon, and Diaz suffered a funky injury as he strained his oblique during batting practice. The Astros are forced to rely on their short list of options in the infield, including Nick Allen and Grae Kessinger. Houston has some injuries in their bullpen, and with them already struggling to close out games and giving up leads, Texas has a chance to dominate this series and have a great start to the long road trip they’ve got ahead of themselves.
