Pirates open 2-game series at home against Texas

Texas Rangers (16-16, third in the AL West) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (16-15, fourth in the AL Central)

Pittsburgh; Tuesday, 7 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Rangers: Adrian Sampson (0-1, 3.58 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 19 strikeouts) Pirates: Steven Brault (0-1, 8.31 ERA, 1.62 WHIP, 11 strikeouts)

LINE: Pirates favored by 1 1/2 runs; over/under is 8 1/2 runs

BOTTOM LINE: Texas hits the road to begin a two game series against Pittsburgh.

The Pirates are 8-8 on their home turf. Pittsburgh’s team on-base percentage of .291 is last in the MLB. Melky Cabrera leads the team with an OBP of .364.

The Rangers are 4-9 on the road. The Texas pitching staff has a combined team ERA of 5.17, Lance Lynn paces the staff with a mark of 5.75. This is the first meeting of the season for these two teams.

TOP PERFORMERS: Josh Bell leads the Pirates with 25 RBIs and is batting .287. Starling Marte is 8-for-46 with a double, three home runs and eight RBIs over the last 10 games for Pittsburgh.

Joey Gallo leads the Rangers with 26 RBIs and is batting .270. Logan Forsythe is 13-for-36 with three doubles, two home runs and 11 RBIs over the last 10 games for Texas.

LAST 10 GAMES: Pirates: 4-6, .236 batting average, 5.42 ERA, outscored by 26 runs

Rangers: 4-6, .255 batting average, 4.26 ERA, outscored opponents by 19 runs

Pirates Injuries: Jameson Taillon: 10-day IL (right elbow flexor strain), Edgar Santana: 60-day IL (elbow), Chad Kuhl: 60-day IL (elbow), Keone Kela: day-to-day (shoulder), Nick Burdi: 10-day IL (biceps), Chris Archer: 10-day IL (thumb), Corey Dickerson: 10-day IL (shoulder), Lonnie Chisenhall: 10-day IL (finger), Jose Osuna: 10-day IL (neck), Erik Gonzalez: 60-day IL (collarbone), Jacob Stallings: 10-day IL (neck).

Rangers Injuries: Edinson Volquez: 60-day IL (elbow), Yohander Mendez: 60-day IL (elbow), Taylor Hearn: 10-day IL (elbow), Luke Farrell: 60-day IL (jaw), Scott Heineman: 60-day IL (shoulder), Ronald Guzman: 10-day IL (hamstring).