Worth noting

• Matt Holliday belted his 11th home run of the season over the center-field wall Thursday and may be on the verge of a hot streak. Holliday raised his average from .267 to .278 with a 7-for-16 performance in the four-game series with the Cubs, and Matheny said he noticed the left fielder has been hitting the ball harder as of late.

"I think his timing is real close to being right on," Matheny said. "When you see the hard outs that he's making there, you can barely get your eyes on them. He's getting real close. It's fun to watch. That ball hit to center, not many guys can hit a ball in that trajectory and get it out of this park."

• Although he was raised an Astros fan, Shelby Miller grew up about two and a half hours from Rangers Ballpark. The Rangers passed up on Miller in the 2009 Draft, and selected another Texas high school prospect, Matt Purke, who did not sign with the team.