ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA - JULY 28: Evan Carter #32 of the Texas Rangers celebrates a score by Joc Pederson #3 in the third inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field on July 28, 2026 in St Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images) | Getty ImagesTexas Rangers lineup for July 31, 2026 against the Houston Astros: starting pitchers are Nathan Eovaldi for the Rangers and Hunter Brown for the Astros.Texas takes on the Astros in the opener of a pretty huge three game series in Houston, the final three games they will play before Mondays trade deadline. If they sweep, they clinch the tiebreaker against Houston (theyve already clinched it against Seattle), and make a pretty decent case for the team to be buying.If they win 2 of 3, they will be a game and a half up on Houston in the division.If they win 1 of 3, they will be a half game back of Houston in the division, but with a softer schedule than the Astros have coming up.If they get swept, wellin that case, Ill be staying out of the comments here for a while.The lineup:Pederson DHLangford LFSeager SSNimmo RFDuran 3BCarter CFBurger 1BLopez 2BWynns C7:15 p.m. Central start time. Rangers are +112 underdogs.