Astros look to close gap on Rangers in series finale

The Houston Astros will look to continue their climb up the American League West standings when they play the Texas Rangers in the finale of a four-game series in Arlington, Texas, on Monday.

Houston has won two of the first three games of the series, but the Astros still sit four games behind the first-place Rangers. With the All-Star break fast approaching, everyone in Houston's clubhouse knew the team had to bring its A-game for the second series of the season between the division rivals.

"We see every series as important and big, but this one, since they are in first place, is going to be huge and really important for both teams," Astros second baseman Jose Altuve said.

In the series opener on Friday, four unanswered runs by Houston, including three in the sixth inning, paved the way for a 5-3 victory. After falling 5-2 on Saturday, the Astros responded with a 5-3 win on Sunday, thanks to Chas McCormick's bases-clearing triple in the eighth inning that broke a 1-1 tie.

Right-hander Cristian Javier (7-1, 3.72 ERA) will get the start for Houston on Monday. He is 5-0 with a 3.88 ERA over his last nine starts but is coming off a no-decision against the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday, when he allowed six runs on eight hits in four innings.

Javier is 5-1 with a 2.90 ERA in 13 career appearances (nine starts) against the Rangers.

Javier will face Texas left-hander Martin Perez (7-3, 4.28), who has allowed no more than two earned runs in each of his last three starts.

In his most recent outing, Perez surrendered two runs on four hits in six innings against the Detroit Tigers last Tuesday. Although he settled for a no-decision, Perez was still able to log another strong performance at Texas' Globe Life Field.

"I feel comfortable here," Perez said recently of pitching at home, where he is 3-1 with a 1.91 ERA this season. "I like the feel of this ballpark. I try to have the same approach everywhere we go, but here at home, I can feel the (fans) and they fire me up."

For his career, Perez is 10-8 with a 3.24 ERA in 20 career starts against the Astros.

"The game is not going to finish until we make 27 outs, so I just try to hold the game where I can and go deep into the game," Perez said after facing the Tigers. "Especially with the way we've been hitting the ball."

If Perez wants to continue his home dominance, he might have to watch out for Houston catcher Martin Maldonado, who is 11-for-23 (.478) with six RBIs against Perez in his career. Altuve has also seen success against the southpaw, going 16-for-56 (.286) with seven RBIs.

Texas will also present a challenge for Javier, as the Rangers lead the majors in batting average (.274) and runs (494) while ranking sixth in homers (114). Texas averaged 5.2 runs per game in June, but it finished the month with a 14-13 record.