The New York Yankees host the Texas Rangers on Tuesday to open a three-game series, with the matchup carrying a different feel for both clubs. New York entered at 24-11 and first in the AL East, while Texas came in at 16-18 and third in the AL West.
Jacob deGrom was the Rangers' probable starter, and Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz was lined up for the Yankees in the fourth meeting between the teams this season. New York was listed at -116 and Texas at -104, with the over/under set at 8 runs.
The Yankees have been the steadier team at home, going 12-5 in their own park and leading the AL with 57 total home runs. Ben Rice led the lineup with a.343 batting average, nine doubles and 12 home runs, while Aaron Judge was 12 for 34 with five home runs and 10 RBIs over his past 10 games. New York also entered 8-2 in its last 10 games and had outscored opponents by 39 runs in that span.
Texas has been harder to pin down. The Rangers were 9-10 on the road, but they were 11-2 when they scored at least five runs. Josh Jung had supplied 12 doubles and four home runs, and Brandon Nimmo was 11 for 35 over his past 10 games with two doubles and an RBI. The Rangers were 4-6 in their last 10 and had been outscored by 11 runs.
Injuries clouded both sides. Rice was day-to-day with a finger injury for New York, which also had Carlos Rodon, Giancarlo Stanton, Angel Chivilli, Gerrit Cole and Clarke Schmidt on the injured list. Texas was missing Wyatt Langford, Cody Freeman, Chris Martin, Cody Bradford, Luis Curvelo, Robert Garcia and Jordan Montgomery, another sign that depth may matter as much as the numbers on Tuesday night.
The Yankees have looked like the sharper team so far, but the Rangers have enough power to change a game quickly if they get into one of their bigger scoring nights. That makes the middle of the series, not just the opener, worth watching closely.