On Deck will be here all season to provide you with everything you need to know (and a few things you don't) about every Rangers series during the 2014 season.
The Opponent: The Mets are in just about as sad a shape as the Rangers are, although their mess is more expected. They're currently 11 games under .500, 10 out of first in the NL East and are losers of four straight.
Past Meetings: The teams haven't faced each other since 2011, when the Mets traveled to Arlington.
Pitching Matchups: Friday — Yu Darvish (8-4, 2.42 ERA) vs. Jonathan Niese (5-4, 2.88); Saturday — Colby Lewis (5-5, 5.71) vs. Bartolo Colon (8-6, 3.88); Sunday — Nick Tepesch (3-3, 3.65) vs. Zach Wheeler (3-8, 4.25).
What's Hot: Catcher Robinson Chirinos is the hottest hitter on the team right now, and that's saying something when you're on a team with Adrian Beltre. Chirinos is hitting .455 with a double and a homer in his last four games over the past week. Beltre is close behind, batting .435 with two doubles, a homer and a team-high six RBIs in the last seven games. Darvish and Tepesch, both, are coming off strong outings in their last start, and Colby Lewis had his first quality start since June 2012 his last time out.
Eric Young Jr. is hitting .417 over his last 12 at-bats, spanning four games. Eric Campbell is 10-for-25 in his last six games, and Daniel Murphy is batting .346 with a homer and is tied for a team-high four RBIs in his last six games.
What's Not: The strong parts of the Rangers' bullpen — Jason Frasor, Neal Cotts and closer Joakim Soria — have struggled horribly over the past week. If those three can't perform, the Rangers are in some serious trouble.
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Offseason acquisition Curtis Granderson is hitting just .160 in his last six games, but he does have two home runs to show for it during that time. Niese and Colon are both coming off shaky starts in their last outings.
