First pitch: Friday, 8:15 p.m. ET
Line: Texas +100, St. Louis -110, Total: 8.0

The Rangers head into St. Louis for the start of a three-game series with the Cardinals on Friday.

The Rangers bring their three-game winning streak to St. Louis where they close out a ten-game road trip. Texas has been on a tear this season, owning the best record in the American League. The Rangers are coming off a game where their Colby Lewis (6-0, 2.81 ERA, 58 KO) took a no-hitter into the ninth inning, but it was broken up on the first batter he faced. The Rangers did, however, win the series. Texas has been winning series with ease recently; the team hasn’t lost a series since May 18th. St. Louis, on the other hand, come into the series on a two-game losing streak. Its not all bad for the Cardinals because before they went on the two-game skid, they won five straight games. Because of the nature that this is an interleague game, the two teams have not played each other since 2013 and Texas swept the three-game series and before that the two teams squared off in the 2011 World Series, when St. Louis won in seven games. Tonight, Texas puts LHP Cole Hamels (6-1, 3.14 ERA, 81 K) on the mound against St. Louis’ RHP Michael Wacha (2-6, 4.91 ERA, 63 K).

When you look into the Rangers’ numbers this year, it is no surprise that they are one of the best teams in the league. They have one of the league’s best offense, ranked sixth in runs scored for the season. Texas has also been pitching well, owning the 10th ranked pitching staff in ERA (3.99). The offensive production has not slowed down recently, as Texas has been hitting .371 in June and has five players hitting .300 or better during the month. OF Ryan Rua (.295, 6 HR, 18 RBI) is having a great month hitting .325 with four HR and ten RBI. The team’s offense has been sparked by OF Ian Desmond (.314, 10 HR, 44 RBI) and 2B Rougned Odor (.269, 12 HR, 33 RBI) this year. Tonight will be a new experience for most of the Rangers’ lineup because only two Rangers hitters have ever faced Wacha. Tonight’s starter, Cole Hamels has been having a great year in his first full year as a Ranger. Over his last three starts, he is 1-0 with a 2.57 ERA and the team won two out of the three games. His last start was in Seattle where he threw seven innings and only gave up one run in a win. Hamels has had some history against St. Louis because he pitched in the National League with the Phillies for most of his career. He is 4-4 with a 2.84 against the Cardinals. It is worth noting that Hamels has been pitching great on the road this season going 4-0 with a 1.94 ERA way from Texas.

St. Louis has been one of the best hitting teams in the league (2nd in runs scored), but has struggled as of late and is only ranked 18th in runs scored in June. The Cardinals will have to turn it around tonight if they want to beat one of the league’s best teams. St. Louis will look to OF Matt Holiday (.258, 11 HR, 36 RBI) to step up after going hitless in the last two games because he has hit Hamels well in his career (.308 BA). 3B Jhonny Peralta (.313, 1HR, 7 RBI) has also hit Hammels well in his career (.364 BA). St. Louis’ starter tonight, Michael Wacha has not pitched well this year. In his last three games, he is 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA. He hasn’t had good outings at home this season, going 1-3 with a 5.54 ERA. Wacha will have to navigate unchartered territories tonight because he has never faced the Rangers in his career.