The Texas Rangers will look to sweep the best team in baseball when they square off against the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday afternoon in the finale of a three-game interleague series in Arlington, Texas.
The game will be a battle of right-handed starters with Freddy Peralta (16-5, 2.50 ERA) taking the ball for the Brewers and Merrill Kelly (11-7, 3.16) going for the Rangers.
Rookie Michael Helman hit a two-run home run and stole a homer at the fence to help the surging Rangers rally for a 5-4 win on Tuesday, Texas’ third victory in a row and 13th in 17 games.
Third-place Texas (76-70) moved within 2 1/2 games of the first-place Houston Astros (78-67) in the American League West. The second-place Seattle Mariners (77-68) also hold the final AL wild-card spot, 1 1/2 games up on the Rangers.
Milwaukee (89-57) has a 6 1/2-game edge over the second-place Chicago Cubs (82-63) in the National League Central.
The Brewers will turn to Peralta in an effort to salvage the series finale. Peralta’s 16 wins are a career high and are tied with the New York Yankees duo of Max Fried and Carlos Rodon for the most in the majors. The victory total is the highest by a Brewers hurler since Zach Davies had 17 in 2017.
Peralta carries a 29-inning scoreless streak into the game, having last allowed a run on Aug. 5against the Atlanta Braves. Peralta is 4-0 with a 0.27 ERA in his past six appearances. In his most recent start, he allowed two hits and two walks while striking out eight in five innings during a no-decision against the visiting Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday.
“Freddy’s been so consistent for so long and even more so this season,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “He’s been such a pillar. It’s his best performance yet for us, it really is. He’s really been special this year. The thing that has separated him in the last few years is what he does between starts to be ready to compete. The consistency of his stuff this year has been remarkable, too.
“His teammates love him. He builds off that energy. They build off his energy.”
Peralta has faced the Rangers three times in his career (two starts), going 1-0 with a 3.18 ERA.
Kelly has been one of the best trade-deadline acquisitions in the majors, as he is 2-1 with a 2.98 ERA in seven starts since moving from the Arizona Diamondbacks on July 31. He has allowed more than three runs just once with the Rangers.
Kelly is coming off a no-decision on Friday at home against Houston. He allowed a run on five hits and a walk over seven innings while fanning seven in a game Texas captured in 12 innings.
Kelly has a 4-2 lifetime record with a 2.77 ERA in nine starts against the Brewers.
The Rangers continue to push for a spot in the postseason despite a rash in injures.
“They’re playing loose, they’re playing free,” Texas manager Bruce Bochy said. “They’ve tried to prove that it’s not one or two guys that will be the reason we get there. It’s going to take everybody. It’s been somebody different, it seems like, every night. …
“We’ve had some really good comebacks through this nice run that we have had. That’s what it’s going to take.”