Tennessee running back DeMarco Murray will miss his second
straight game with the Titans ruling him out against the Kansas City Chiefs in
their AFC wild-card game Saturday.
Coach Mike Mularkey had refused to rule the veteran running back out until
Thursday.
Murray hurt his right knee late in a loss Dec. 24 to the Los Angeles Rams and
has not practiced since. Murray finished the season with a career-worst 659
yards
rushing Authentic
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passes for 266 yards with another TD.
Mularkey says starting left guard Quinton Spain is questionable for the
Titans (9-7) against the Chiefs (10-6) because of his back.
Both tight end Jonnu Smith and cornerback Kalan Reed were cleared from the
concussion protocol.
¡ª
If the Houston Astros are heading into a two-game series against rival Texas
with the idea that they¡¯ll be able to push around the rebuilding Rangers and get
back on track after three straight losses, maybe it¡¯s time to think again.
The Astros will send struggling left-hander Dallas Keuchel (4-8, 4.22 ERA) to
the mound in the first game of the series on Tuesday at Globe Life Park in
Arlington. Texas will counter with right-hander Austin Bibens-Dirkx (1-1,
3.57).
Houston lost three straight games in Tampa Bay last weekend, including a 3-2
setback on Sunday, and dropped its first series since May 28-30 at Yankee
Stadium.
The Astros were 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position on Sunday and
0-for-14 in the series. Houston managed just seven runs in the four-game series
¡ª all on
homers Authentic
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It was the Astros¡¯ fewest runs in a four-game series on the road since they
scored five at Tropicana Field against the Rays in 2014.
¡°We didn¡¯t do enough to win the game or the series,¡± Astros manager AJ Hinch
told mlb.com. ¡°We made some mental errors, we had some big moments that they
executed some pitches. One-run games, a couple of losses this series, are tough
to swallow. We¡¯ll take it to the next city, but this one sucks.¡±
The
Rangers Golden
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temperatures in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. Texas is 12-6 since the Astros
swept a four-game series from them in Arlington on June 7-10 and have won a
season-best five straight series, including taking two of three games last
weekend at home against the White Sox.
Texas ended that series with a 10-5 loss on Sunday in which ace starter Cole
Hamels struggled, allowing a season-high seven earned runs and nine hits, which
matched his high for the year.
Hamels, who has been the constant subject of trade talks for the past
month Authentic
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and it had no effect on his performance.
¡°It¡¯s not a big deal. It¡¯s out of my control,¡± Hamels said. ¡°I have to go and
pitch, and hopefully that¡¯ll be the last time I have to answer that
question.¡±
Keuchel took a no-decision in his last start on June 27 against Toronto,
allowing six runs and seven hits in 5 1/3 innings of the Astros¡¯ 7-6 comeback
victory. He surrendered five runs in the first inning before settling in to
pitch five scoreless innings.
Keuchel, the 2015 AL Cy Young Award winner and a 2-time All-Star (2015,
2017) Authentic
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against the Rangers this year. He is 9-9 with a 4.03 ERA in 25 career games, all
starts, against Texas and is 1-1 with a 4.15 ERA in 17 1/3 innings versus the
Rangers in 2018.
Keuchel has not been as successful this season as over the past four seasons
but he¡¯s still inducing a high ground ball rate and soft contact. He leads the
AL in groundball to fly-ball ratio (2.64), while ranking third in soft contact
percentage (23.1 percent).
Bibens-Dirkx will make his fifth start of the season and his first start
against the Astros. He¡¯s coming off a no-decision against the San Diego Padres
on Tuesday, when he allowed two hits and struck out six in five scoreless
innings in a game that San Diego won 3-2. Bibens-Dirkx is 0-1 with a 3.18 ERA at
home this season.
Bibens-Dirkx was recalled from Triple-A Round Rock before his June 20 start
against Kansas City for his second stint with Texas in 2018. He will be working
on regular four days¡¯ rest; the Rangers are 2-2 in his four starts this
season.
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