Astros  4    Rangers  5

Houston Astros (29-33) at Texas Rangers (36-27), 8:05 p.m.

Sports Network | June 17, 2009

(Sports Network) - The Texas Rangers will try for their fifth straight victory over the Houston Astros when the two ballclubs resume a three-game series tonight at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.

Texas recorded its fourth consecutive victory over the Astros last night and captured the Silver Boot for the third straight year. The Rangers, who have won the Boot from Houston in five of the past six years, received a huge lift from Ian Kinsler in Tuesday's 6-1 victory in the series opener. Kinsler ripped two solo home runs and finished with three hits and three runs scored for the Rangers, who ended a two-game slide and won for the third time in five tries.

"I was able to sit back, relax and think about what I've been doing and just get my mind right," Kinsler said on the team's official site. "Get back to being aggressive on the fastball. I've been sitting on the offspeed stuff, and fastballs have been beating me while I've been pulling the offspeed stuff into the third-base stands."

Michael Young had two hits and two runs batted in, while David Murphy and Marlon Byrd both finished with a pair of hits and an RBI for the AL West- leading Rangers. Texas, which is two games ahead of the LA Angels in the division, also got a strong showing from starter Kevin Millwood last night. Millwood won his seventh game of the season with seven innings of one-run ball, recording six strikeouts and three walks.

Texas swept Houston in three games on the road from May 22-24 atMinute Maid Park and has won five of the last six meetings between the teams.

Rangers shortstop Omar Vizquel needs just one hit to tie Luis Aparicio for the most hits in Major League history by a native of Venezuela. Aparicio owns 2,677 hits in his career and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1984.

Taking the mound for Texas tonight will be Matt Harrison, who hasn't pitched since May 25 versus the New York Yankees because of a left shoulder strain. Harrison will be activated off the disabled list and is 0-2 with a 10.80 ERA in his past two starts following a personal four-game winning streak. Against the Yankees in Arlington, Harrison was rocked for seven runs and 11 hits in five innings of an 11-1 setback.

Harrison, who pitched seven combined innings in two rehab starts with Double-A Frisco, is 4-4 with a 5.43 earned run average in nine starts this season. He is also 2-2 in four starts at home in 2009 and 7-4 with a 5.84 ERA in 14 career starts at Rangers Ballpark. The lefty has never faced Houston.

The Astros, meanwhile, lost for just the second time in six tries last night and didn't get much help from starting pitcher Wandy Rodriguez. Rodriguez allowed six runs on six hits and five walks in four innings of work to absorb the loss.

Ivan Rodriguez homered in defeat and tied Hall of Fame catcher Carlton Fisk for most games behind the plate with 2,226. He will pass Fisk, also nicknamed 'Pudge', this evening for the most games caught against a team he earned 10 Gold Glove Awards and 10 All-Star appearances with from 1991-2002. Rodriguez had many special moments behind the plate with the Rangers, including an incident in 1993 when he tried to hold back a charging Robin Ventura of the White Sox before the Chicago infielder was pummeled in the head by a fury of fists from starting pitcher Nolan Ryan.

"I'm very pleased," said Rodriguez, who passed Bob Boone to tie Fisk. "It's an unbelievable record to tie Carlton Fisk. I respect him a lot and to be able to get to his mark is an honor for me."

Houston is 2-2 on a nine-game road trip and will also visit Minnesota for three games at the Metrodome.

Michael Bourn and Miguel Tejada both had two hits in last night's loss for the 'Stros, who will send Russ Ortiz to the mound Wednesday. Ortiz is 3-2 with a 3.48 earned run average in 15 games (5 starts) this season and has recorded three consecutive no-decisions. He previously pitched 5 1/3 scoreless innings in a 2-1 win over the Chicago Cubs on Thursday, allowing just three hits and fanning five batters.

The right-hander, whose last win was on June 2 in relief versus Colorado, hasn't surrendered a run since giving up two on May 19 in a loss against Milwaukee. Ortiz has pitched five scoreless innings over two appearances against Texas this season and is 0-0 with a 2.61 ERA in seven career games, two of which have been starts, versus the Rangers.