As the Rangers head to Houston to face the Astros, let's look at who's trending up and who's not in our weekly stock report (delayed from Friday until Monday this week):
STOCK UP
Yu Darvish: The Rangers' ace nearly pulled off the first no-hitter of his career Friday night, until David Ortiz managed a single through the shift with two outs in the ninth. It's the second time in Darvish's big league career that he's come within one out of one of baseball's most impressive feats. He was an out away from a perfect game against the Astros last year before Marwin Gonzalez's hit broke it up. But it was another masterful outing for Darvish.
Elvis Andrus: Credit manager Ron Washington for moving Andrus down in the order with the idea of taking the pressure off. I wasn't sure if that would change anything, but it appears to have relaxed Andrus a bit and he's hitting the ball better. He's got an eight-game hitting streak (batting .414 in that span) and is now back at the No. 2 spot in the lineup.
Shin-Soo Choo: Leads the club with four home runs and continues to play solid baseball, hitting .379 in his last 18 games as the club's leadoff hitter. Even a sprained ankle hasn't kept Choo from hitting.
STOCK DOWN
Martin Perez: Made two starts in the last week and struggled in both. Now, he's going to miss at least one start with inflammation in his elbow. An MRI showed no signs of structural damage, but Perez could end up on the DL. He has a 13.15 ERA in his last three starts.
Robbie Ross: There were actually some positives from Ross' start Sunday in that after a shaky first two innings, he settled down, made some adjustments and gave the Rangers some innings. But it was still a loss and not the same Ross that pitched well earlier in the season. Ross started the year 1-1 with a 2.45 ERA, but is 0-3 with a 9.98 ERA since (in his last three starts).
Adrian Beltre: The club's third baseman has just three hits in his last six games and is batting .205 in May. This lineup sure could use more from Beltre in the middle of that lineup.