It’s baseball time in Texas as the Rangers get home-field advantage and host the Detroit Tigers for the first two games in a series that determines who gets to play St Louis or Milwaukee in the World Series. Texas is coming off of a 3-1 series win over Tampa Bay while Detroit shocked New York by taking the series in five games.

Will home field-advantage be a factor for the Rangers? The Rangers are 3-5 at home since 2010 and the Tigers only won one home game in this year’s American League Division Series. This is the first ALCS appearance for the Tigers since 2006 where they swept the Oakland Athletics in four games. This will be the second straight ALCS appearance for Texas as they seek out another trip to the World Series.

 

Texas Rangers StarterCJ Wilson

CJ starts Game 1 after a terrible ALDS performance where he gave up six runs on seven hits in five innings. But this southpaw has put up great numbers during the regular season, including 206 strikeouts in 223.1 innings pitched. He will need to locate his pitches early in order to shut down this offense that has already given him fits this season.

 

Detroit Tigers StarterJustin Verlander

Verlander, the heavy favorite for the AL Cy Young award, has had an incredible season and plans to continue that season tonight in Arlington. His 24-5 record, along with his 250 strikeouts in 251 innings, is going to present a challenge to the potent Ranger offense. His only appearance against the Rangers was a complete game two-run showing that wasn’t enough to lead his team to a win.

 

Location: Arlington, TX

Weather: 84 degrees, mostly cloudy, 17 MPH wind coming east southeast, 40 percent chance of precipitation (90 percent chance around 8:00 p.m. CST)

Network: FOX

Tonight’s game begins at 7 p.m. CST. Check this live blog during the game for continuous updates and analysis.

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