Mere words cannot do this final Silver Boot Series justice. Instead, I crafted a video to honor the most treasured shoe in Texas. The Boot may be closeted once these teams play for pennants, but it will never be kicked off and forgotten in our hearts.
Bring home the Boot one last time, Texas Rangers.
Friday, June 15 7:05: RHP Jordan Lyles vs. RHP Yu Darvish
Saturday, June 16 6:15: RHP Lucas Harrell vs. RHP Justin Grimm
Sunday, June 17 2:05: RHP Bud Norris (?) vs. RHP Colby Lewis
Here's a breakdown of the pitching match-ups in this, the final time the Rangers play the Astros as interleague opponents:
- Yu Darvish: 7-4, 9.54 K/9, 5.45 BB/9, .303 BABIP, 76.0% LOB, 4.04 FIP, 4.22 xFIP, 1.2 WAR - Last three starts: 11 runs allowed in 16.2 innings
- Jordan Lyles: 1-2, 5.67 K/9, 3.78 BB/9, .284 BABIP, 61.9% LOB, 5.49 FIP, 4.76 xFIP, -0.2 WAR - Last three starts: 10 runs allowed in 16.1 innings
Advantage: Yu Darvish with rest over Jordan Lyles isn't very good.
- Justin Grimm: First Big League Start - Already leads league in Awesome Name Per Appearance
- Lucas Harrell: 6-4, 4.48 K/9, 3.30 BB/9, .280 BABIP, 60.5% LOB, 4.40 FIP, 4.31 xFIP, 0.5 WAR - Last three appearances: 17 runs allowed in 18.1 innings
Advantage: We should know what Lucas Harrell will do and it will be pretty mediocre over we don't really know what we'll get from Justin Grimm. Grimm has already won the name battle, however.
- Colby Lewis: 5-5, 7.48 K/9, 1.11 BB/9, .262 BABIP, 77.6% LOB, 4.13 FIP, 3.92 xFIP, 1.4 WAR - Last three appearances: 5 runs allowed in 23.2 innings
- Bud Norris: 5-4, 9.99 K/9, 3.45 BB/9, .330 BABIP, 71.3% LOB, 3.94 FIP, 3.70 xFIP, 0.9 WAR - Last three starts: 16 runs allowed in 11.0 innings
Advantage: Colby Lewis pitching great of late over Bud Norris maybe not even starting after hurting his left knee in his last start in San Francisco. If Norris can't go, I'd imagine the Astros will start someone terrible. If Bud Norris does start, holy crap he's allowed a lot of runs recently.
Houston Astros (27-36, 5th Place NL Central)
Rangers Record vs. Houston: 2-1 (All at Minute Maid Park)
Houston's Recent Results: 1-2 series loss against the San Francisco Giants
Houston's Road Record: 9-22
Ballpark in Arlington Park Factors (LHB/RHB): HR: 121/113 - wOBA: 104/107
SB Nation Astros Blog: The Crawfish Boxes
| Match-up: (as of 06/15) | Rangers | Astros | Advantage |
| Batting (RAR) | 42.8 (3rd) | -13.3 (22nd) | Rangers |
| Base Running (RAR) | 0.8 (11th) | -4.4 (27th) | Rangers |
| Starters (RAR) | 25.0 | 11.2 | Rangers |
| Bullpen (RAR) | 30.7 (1st) | -3.1 (28th) | Rangers |
| Defense (UZR) | 16.2 (3rd) | 4.3 (13th) | Rangers |
| Overall (UZR + RAR) | 115.5 | -5.3 | Rangers |
Questions to Answer:
- What's your favorite Lone Star Series memory? (I liked when C.J. tripled up that idiotic hill.)
- Who is your Return of the McLemore Approved Player to Watch in this series? (I'm guessing Josh Hamilton fun time approaches.)
- Over/Under: 5.5 hits by Jose Altuve in this series because he's short and a strike zone does not exist for him?
- What's your guess for Justin Grimm's final line (IP/H/K/BB/ER) on Saturday?
- Do you think Nolan secretly likes Houston more?