They were NL East teammates at the start of the 2023 season. Now they’re squaring off on the mound in a Texas-sized AL West showdown -- and you can watch for free on MLB.TV.

Justin Verlander and the Astros take on Max Scherzer and the Rangers in MLB.TV’s Free Game of the Day.

It will be the first MLB meeting between the pair of three-time Cy Young Award winners, who were teammates with the Tigers from 2010 to 2014 before reuniting when Verlander signed with the Mets before the 2023 season. But Scherzer was dealt to the Rangers for prospect Luisangel Acuña on July 29, and Verlander was traded back to the Astros -- where he spent 2017-22 -- on Aug. 1, hours before the Trade Deadline.

Verlander owns a 3.86 ERA in six starts since then with the visiting Astros, with whom he won the AL Cy Young Award in 2019 and 2022. Scherzer, the AL Cy Young winner with the Tigers in 2013 and NL Cy Young winner with the Nationals in 2016 and 2017, has pitched to a 2.21 ERA in six outings with the Rangers.

While all eyes will be on the exciting pitching matchup, both teams’ offenses are among the best in the league thanks to plenty of star power. Rangers shortstop Corey Seager leads the American League in batting average at .345 and trails Shohei Ohtani by just one point for MLB’s top OPS. He’s joined by Marcus Semien, Adolis García and Nathaniel Lowe at the top of the Rangers’ order.

On Houston’s side of things, dynamic second baseman Jose Altuve -- who hit for the cycle on Aug. 28 before homering in four straight at-bats between Monday's and Tuesday's Astros routs  -- will be a tough out as always. Third baseman Alex Bregman and lefty sluggers Yordan Alvarez and Kyle Tucker make the Astros’ lineup difficult to pitch to.

Today’s game is crucial for both teams when it comes to postseason positioning. The Astros have moved into first place in the AL West with less than four weeks remaining in the regular season, but the Rangers are still only two games back of Houston and one game behind the second-place Mariners.

Both Verlander and Scherzer will surely bring their all to what promises to be a must-see matchup all the way around. But only one Texas team can come out on top.