One last road trip. Five games, two cities. What has been a season of road misery won’t be any easier. Verlander tonight. Cole tomorrow. They are the number two and number one pitchers, respectively, in all of baseball in strikeouts going against the team with the second-most strikeouts.

Texas is just seven strikeouts away from Detroit for most strikeouts in baseball, 1489 to 1481. Facing Verlander and Cole back to back is their chance to catch the Tigers.

Verlander is trying to win 20. He’s at 18. Garrit Cole has 17 wins. Houston is trying to finish with the most wins and, with that, home field advantage in the playoffs.

The Rangers are 0-7 so far at Houston this year. The Rangers are 0-7 in Lance Lynn’s last seven starts.

So, all things are lining up for a good old-fashioned butt whipping.

Last year they struck out 1,484 times. They are three away from that. They should have that by the second inning tonight. The Rangers team record for strikeouts was in 2017 with 1,493. They’re only 12 away. That should fall tonight as well.

Even though the Rangers are eliminated from post-season, they still have something to play for.

The major league record for strikeouts by a team is 1,535, by the 2013 Houston Astros. Texas is just 54 away from that, with eleven games to play. The Rangers are averaging 9.8 strikeouts per game. So they should break the all-time major league record at home against Boston.

It will be a joyous occasion. Only dampened by the fact that Detroit might end up snatching victory out of the jaws of embarrassment.

But, come one 1,535. If you’re going to be bad, be monumentally bad.

*****

TODAY’S GAME:

Lance Lynn (14-10, 3.72) vs. Justin Verlander (18-6, 2.58)

Game time: 7:10