After Joe Nathan's blown save on Wednesday night, the Texas Rangers will try to win their get-away game with the Seattle Mariners on Thursday afternoon and prevent Seattle from splitting a series Texas had been dominating.
Taking the hill for the Rangers will be Derek Holland, who had opened the season with a decent effort against the Chicago White Sox, giving up three earned runs while striking out five and walking three batters in six innings.
It's a testament to how strong Texas' pitching staff has been to start the season that Holland's 4.50 ERA is currently their second worst.
The Mariners will turn to Jason Vargas, a 6'0 215 left-hander whose now his third season as a starting pitcher. With a 3.78 ERA in 2010 and a 4.25 ERA in 2011, Vargas has carved out a career as an effective major-league starter in Seattle, throwing for more than 190 innings in both seasons.
The Rangers will likely not have the services of Nathan today, as their new closer appeared in the last two games and has struggled while pitching without rest since coming back from Tommy John surgery last year.
The 1:05 PM game will be televised locally on Fox Sports Southwest and broadcast on the radio at 103.3 FM.
For full coverage of the game, stay tuned to SB Nation Dallas' exclusive storystream as well as Lonestar Ball.