Opposite dugout: Rangers remain under .500, likely sellers at deadline

Manager: Jeff Banister

Record: 49-52

Last 10 games: 4-6

Who to watch: 3B Adrian Beltre (.307/.387/.545, 2996 career hits), 1B/3B Joey Gallo (25 HR, 47 RBIs), Elvis Andrus (20 SB), RHP Andrew Cashner (3.64 ERA), RHP Alex Claudio (4 saves, 2.42 ERA)

Seasons series vs. Orioles: 0-4

Pitching probables:

July 28: RHP Chris Tillman vs. RHP Andrew Cashner, 8:05 p.m., MASN2
July 29: RHP Kevin Gausman vs. RHP Austin Bibens-Dirkx, 8:05 p.m., MASN2
July 30: LHP Wade Miley vs. LHP Martin Perez, 3:05 p.m., MASN2

Inside the Rangers:

Long time, no see, Rangers. After facing the Orioles in a four-game series from July 17-20 in Baltimore, now it is time for the Rangers to host the O's in Arlington, just eight days after the last time the two teams met. Texas is still below .500 and still does not have the same luck in one-run games as they did last year. And now, if trade rumors are to believed, the Rangers are going to be sellers at the trade deadline.

Most of what was written about the Texas offense previewing the prior series remains true. Third baseman Adrian Beltre is still marvelously defying his age and he sits just four hits away from securing his rightful place in the Hall of Fame with 3,000 hits. In his six games since the series finale in Baltimore, Beltre is batting .479 with 11 hits in 23 at-bats. It would be fair to say he knows the milestone is getting very close. Corner infielder Joey Gallo's strategy at the plate remains "hit a homer or strike out trying." Gallo has recorded three dingers and seven strikeouts in his last five games. If he kept that pace for 162 games, he would have 98 home runs and 227 strikeouts. Catcher Jonathan Lucroy continues to be severely lacking in power. He has batted .158 since the Rangers left Baltimore and all of those hits have come from singles. Elsewhere in the Rangers lineup, second baseman Rougned Odor is severely lacking in plate discipline. His .255 on-base percentage is the second-worst mark in baseball. According to FanGraphs, Odor swings at 41 percent of the pitches that are thrown outside of the strike zone. For reference, the Reds' Joey Votto does that only 17 percent of the time. Odor's free-swinging nature was fine in 2016, when he slugged .502 and had 33 homers, but now his slugging percentage has fallen almost 100 points to .409. In his second year with the Rangers, Carlos Gomez is an example of the value that a change in scenery can have. After being traded to the Astros from the Brewers, Gomez slugged just .342 in 126 games as an Astro. Houston cut ties with Gomez and the other team in Texas picked him up. Gomez has regained his power and is slugging .485 in 104 games with the Rangers.

On Friday, right-hander Andrew Cashner will open the series. He has had three straight quality starts, enjoying a solid 2.75 ERA to start July. Cashner is a more successful pitcher when he pitches on the road. In his six starts in Arlington, he has allowed a .433 slugging percentage, while that figure falls to .329 in his 10 starts on the road. Additionally, Cashner is not a pitcher known for his ability to go deep in games. He has never recorded more than seven innings pitched in any of his starts this season and has recorded seven innings pitched in just four of his 16 starts. On Saturday, Austin Bibens-Dirkx, the rare 32-year-old rookie, will start. After being drafted in 2006, Bibens-Dirkx has finally gotten a chance to pitch in the big leagues this year. He has spent time in both the Rangers rotation and bullpen, starting five games and making seven relief appearances. As a starter, Bibens-Dirkx's best outing came on June 11, when he outpitched Max Scherzer in D.C., lasting seven innings, allowing three hits and one run against the Nationals. Saturday will be his first start since June 30, where he allowed three home runs in a loss to the White Sox. Lefty Martin Perez will start on Sunday. He has much more success facing left-handed batters than righties. Lefties slash .292/.340/.385, while righties do better with a .315/.377/.486 line, so it would be reasonable to expect Seth Smith and Hyun Soo Kim to spend Sunday on the bench.

Closer Alex Claudio has found recent success despite barely getting any strikeouts. Over his last six games, Claudio has allowed just two hits in 6 2/3 innings while only getting three strikeouts. Claudio prides himself on inducing ground balls and his 72.5 percent ground ball rate is second out of all relievers. Despite the success of Claudio, the Rangers bullpen has been one of their biggest weaknesses this season. Their bullpen WHIP (1.49) and opponent batting average (.268) are both near the bottom of the leaderboards for all bullpens in the league.