(Photo credit: Dennis Lee-Imagn Images)

The injury-riddled Texas Rangers will send one of their hottest pitchers to the mound on Friday when they square off with the struggling Houston Astros in the opener of a three-game series in Arlington, Texas.

The Astros (77-64) lead the American League West by 3 1/2 games over Seattle.

Texas (72-69) resides in third place in the division, five games in back of Houston and 1 1/2 games behind the Mariners for the American League's final wild-card spot.

While right-hander Merrill Kelly (11-7, 3.24 ERA) draws the start for the Rangers, Houston has yet to name a pitcher to start Friday's game.

Given the rash of injuries for Texas that's included season-ending stints on the IL by second baseman Marcus Semien, outfielder Evan Carter and Cy Young Award candidate Nathan Eovaldi and a short term (and continuing) stay by shortstop Corey Seager, it's remarkable that the Rangers have made headway in both the division and wild-card race.

'We've made up a lot of ground,' Texas designated hitter Joc Pederson said. 'We have big series coming up. But we're in a beautiful spot compared to where we were or where we thought we might have been a couple of weeks ago.'

The Rangers have lost their past two games, the latest a 2-0 setback in Arizona that dropped them to 4-2 over a six-game road trip.

'It was a good road trip, but if you win the first four, you want to get greedy and have a great road trip,' Texas manager Bruce Bochy said. 'You take that trip, but we aren't satisfied with it.'

Kelly has won his last two starts, most recently allowing three runs on six hits in 6 1/3 innings of a 9-3 victory over the Athletics on Saturday.

He is 2-1 with a 3.31 ERA over his six appearances with the Rangers since being acquired from Arizona at the trade deadline.

Kelly has just two career starts against the Astros and lost his only decision while amassing a 0.73 ERA over 12 1/3 innings. He has not faced Houston since that loss in 2023 while pitching as a member of the Diamondbacks.

On Thursday, the Rangers placed left-hander Danny Coulombe on the 15-day injured list with shoulder soreness. Coulombe, who also was obtained at the trade deadline (from Minnesota), has not pitched since Aug. 26. Coulombe's placement on the IL was the ninth made to the injured list over the past 18 days.

There likely will be a 10th player headed for the IL on Friday as Texas outfielder Adolis Garcia is expected to the put on the shelf with a Grade 2-level strained quadriceps.

The Astros enter the series opener on the heels of an 8-4 loss at home to the New York Yankees on Thursday. Houston dropped two of the three games in the series against the Yankees and has lost four of its past six contests.

Spencer Arrighetti originally was scheduled to start the series opener but was ruled out for the rest of the regular season on Thursday because of right elbow inflammation. Houston is still trying to figure out its rotation for the entire set with the Rangers and is likely to go with a bullpen game sometime in the series.

Arrighetti, along with fellow right-handers Cristian Javier and Luis Garcia, returned to the rotation in August after injuries -- with Javier and Garcia pitching for the first time this season.

'We're trying to win a pennant, but also we know how hard those guys have worked to get back, so we want to make sure we take care of their health first,' Houston manager Joe Espada said Thursday. 'We are taking those things into consideration when we're putting (together) our rotation for the next couple of weeks.'

--Field Level Media