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 2016 season.
The Opponent: The Indians are just a half-game out of a tightly packed AL Central behind the defending champion Royals after passing up the White Sox over the weekend.
Past Meetings: The teams split their six matchups last year with the Indians taking two of three in Arlington and the Rangers winning the series in Cleveland.
Pitching Matchups: Monday — Derek Holland (3-4, 5.21 ERA) vs. Josh Tomlin (7-0, 3.35); Tuesday — Colby Lewis (4-0, 3.38) vs. Corey Kluber (4-5, 3.78); Wednesday — Cole Hamels (5-1, 3.34) vs. Trevor Bauer (3-2, 4.34)
What's Hot: Catcher Bobby Wilson continues his tear, batting .533 (8-for-15) in his last four games. Ian Desmond and Ohio native Ryan Rua are each hitting .444 in the last week. Since his call-up, Jurickson Profar is 5-for-13 with a triple and three runs in his three starts in Rougned Odor's absence. Adrian Beltre, Mitch Moreland and Nomar Mazara each have two homers and five RBIs in the last week.
Lonnie Chisenhall, who hit three homers in a game last year against the Rangers, is batting .400 over the last week. Mike Napoli is batting .318 with three homers and nine RBIs in his last six games.
What's Not: Colby Lewis had his first bad start of the year last time out, but it was still a win. He allowed five runs in the first two innings but ended up going five innings and allowing six runs in a 15-9 win over the Angels. Cole Hamels also had his first really bad outing of the year, giving up six runs (five earned) in 4 2/3 innings.
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The Indians' three starters for this series are all coming off big starts with Bauer's three earned runs in six innings being the worst of the bunch. Tomlin went eight and Kluber went seven in their last outings.
Familiar Faces: Shin-Soo Choo, who's on the disabled list for the Rangers, spent 6 1/2 years in Cleveland before one season in Cincinnati and then signing his big deal with Texas. A few former Rangers now reside in Cleveland: Mike Napoli is the most notable, but there's also Chris Gimenez, Marlon Byrd and relief pitcher Tommy Hunter.
