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at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, Texas Records: Boston is 31-15 (first in the American League East); Texas is 18-29 (last in the AL West).

Tonight (8:05, NESN, WRKO 680): RH Daisuke Matsuzaka (6-2, 4.06) vs. RH Brandon McCarthy (4-4, 5.82).

Tomorrow (8:05 p.m., NESN, WRKO): RH Tim Wakefield (4-5, 3.14) vs. RH Vicente Padilla (2-6, 5.52).

Sunday (3:05 p.m., NESN, WRKO): RH Julian Tavarez (3-4, 5.27) vs. RH Kameron Loe (1-4, 6.38).

Head to head: This is the second of three series (10 games). The Rangers took two of three at home April 6-8.

Miscellany: Matsuzaka is 3-0 with a 1.87 ERA in his last three starts and has gone at least seven innings each time . . . McCarthy is 3-0 with a 2.31 ERA this month after a dismal April (1-4, 9.90) . . . The Rangers have dropped two straight, scoring a total of four runs, after piling up 14 runs in back-to-back games.