PHOENIX — Three games behind the Houston Astros in the American League West, the Texas Rangers open a three-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday night at Chase Field.
Texas is also two games behind the Cleveland Guardians for the third American League wild card. The Toronto Blue Jays are one game behind Cleveland and one game ahead of Texas.
Right-hander Kumar Rocker (5-11, 4.61 ERA) is scheduled to start for the Rangers. Arizona counters with right-hander Merrill Kelly (9-13, 5.06 ERA), whom Texas acquired from the Diamondbacks at the 2025 trade deadline. First pitch is at 8:40 p.m. CT on Rangers Sports Network.
Arizona is 78-69 and a half game behind the San Diego Padres (78-68) for the third and final National League wild card. Friday’s game opens a nine-game homestand for the Diamondbacks. Both teams have 15 games left. The two franchises met in the 2023 World Series, which Texas won in five games.
Jacob deGrom retired the first 15 batters he faced Thursday afternoon at T-Mobile Park and struck out 12 in 6 scoreless innings. The Seattle Mariners won the game 4-3.
The only hit off deGrom was a leadoff single by Cole Young in the sixth, a line drive that deflected off his glove. He did not walk a batter. deGrom felt his groin tighten in the fourth inning when he ran to cover first base, and he came out after the sixth at 92 pitches with Texas ahead 3-0.
Jakob Junis faced 4 batters in the seventh and did not record an out. Julio Rodríguez hit the go-ahead three-run homer off him. Earlier, Joc Pederson hit a two-run homer in the third inning. His 26th of the season tied Jake Burger for the team lead.
Texas has lost four of its past six games. The Rangers are 32-43 on the road and have not won a road series since a trip through Toronto and Cleveland that ended July 1.
Speaking with reporters in Seattle, Rangers manager Skip Schumaker said the club had another eight hours to be upset about the loss, MLB.com’s Kennedi Landry reported.
“Win tomorrow,” Schumaker said. “That’s how you get [momentum] back. That’s that. There’s only one way to go. We’re going to feel this one. There’s no doubt. Going to feel it for probably the rest of the night, and then you’re going to have to flush it right away when we get to land in Arizona. That’s just part of being a big leaguer.”
“We go to Arizona,” Schumaker continued. “We try to win the first game. … The only thing you can do is be upset for another eight hours and then figure out Arizona.”
Kumar Rocker Gets Second Look At Arizona Diamondbacks
Rocker has faced Arizona once. On May 13 at Globe Life Field, he threw 5 scoreless innings, allowed 3 hits, walked 4, and struck out 3 on 97 pitches in a no-decision. Texas won that game 6-5 on a walk-off single in the ninth inning. The Rangers took two of three in the series.
The Tampa Bay Rays were the opponent in his last outing, on Sept. 4 at Globe Life Field. Right-hander Trevor Williams opened that game for Texas and pitched the first inning. Left-hander Robby Ahlstrom took the second, and Rocker came in to start the third. He pitched 5 innings and allowed 9 hits and 6 runs, 5 of them earned. He walked none and struck out 3 in a 7-6 loss.
The four runs Tampa Bay put together in the fifth inning were what stayed with Rocker afterward.
“I can live with solo homers,” Rocker said. “But I had a lot of guys in the hole. When you get bled to death with four runs, that’s something I can’t let happen.”
“Whenever I’m called to take the ball, I try to go out there and compete to the fullest that I can,” Rocker added. “And tonight I didn’t do it. That was on me. I did not get the job done for the team.”
Texas has gone to an opener in front of Rocker three times this season. His 8.63 ERA in the first inning is the second-highest in the majors among pitchers with at least 20 first innings. deGrom, at 9.00, is the only pitcher above him.
Rocker has thrown 134 2/3 innings this season, the most of any year in his professional career. The Rangers drafted him third overall in 2022.
Schumaker said after that start that Rocker’s velocity and slider shape held up.
“It’s a lot of innings for him this year, more than ever,” Schumaker explained. “But he was throwing 96 miles an hour. I think it was just the execution of the pitches, where kind of their hot zones, he threw it there, unfortunately, a few times and paid for it. So there was some really good pitches that were made. His velo was there. His slider shapes were there. That part of it was good.”
“Unfortunately, the execution of the pitch ended up catching up to him, and those top four hitters especially, they’re a good lineup up and down,” Schumaker noted. “But the top four hitters, if you make a mistake, they’re going to make you pay. And he made a few mistakes to them.”
Merrill Kelly Faces Texas Rangers With Corbin Carroll Expected Back
Kelly went 3-3 with a 4.23 ERA in 10 starts for Texas after the trade. He is back with the Diamondbacks on a two-year, $40 million contract that runs through 2027 and includes a vesting option for 2028.
In Game 2 of the 2023 World Series at Globe Life Field, Kelly pitched 7 innings and allowed 3 hits and 1 run. He walked none and struck out 9 in Arizona’s only win of the series.
Kelly is 1-0 with a 3.09 ERA in two career regular-season starts against the Rangers. Pederson, who spent the 2024 season with Arizona, is 8-for-28 against him with 2 doubles and 2 triples.
Over his past five starts, Kelly is 1-4. On Aug. 29 at San Francisco, he threw 7 scoreless innings, allowed 2 hits, walked 4, and struck out 7. His last start came in a 3-1 loss at Houston on Sept. 4, when he pitched 6 innings and allowed 7 hits and 3 runs with no walks and 4 strikeouts.
After an MRI on his lower back Thursday, Corbin Carroll is expected back in Arizona’s lineup Friday. Nothing concerning showed up on the scan, Arizona Sports’ John Gambadoro reported.
Carroll made 2 plate appearances as a pinch hitter Monday in the series opener at the Kansas City Royals. He was scratched from Tuesday’s game with lower back discomfort and did not play Wednesday.
Carroll said he suffered a back spasm during Arizona’s Aug. 31 to Sept. 2 home series against the Philadelphia Phillies, according to Arizona Sports.
Over his past 15 games, Carroll is hitting .148/.200/.222 with 1 homer and 4 RBIs. For the season, he has a .240/.334/.466 slash line with 19 homers, 61 RBIs, and 21 stolen bases. His 16 triples lead the majors. He made his third All-Star team this season.
Arizona went 4-2 on its six-game trip through Houston and Kansas City. Wednesday’s 5-2 loss to the Royals ended a four-game winning streak. The Diamondbacks have averaged 2.5 runs over their past 10 games, compared with 4.4 for the season. Since July 9, they are 33-22.
Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said the end of the trip was frustrating.
“Overall, I feel like the offense is trending in the right direction, but we have to find a way to score more runs,” Lovullo said. “It was a frustrating end to the [six-game] road trip, but we played well enough to win four games. We have to capitalize on the things we did well and build on it.”
Texas set up Cal Quantrill to start twice on the six-game trip through Seattle and Arizona. He started Tuesday’s 10-5 win at T-Mobile Park.
Saturday’s game at Chase Field begins at 7:10 p.m. CT, and Sunday’s finale is scheduled for 3:10 p.m. CT. The Rangers return home Tuesday to open a three-game series against the Boston Red Sox, who hold the second American League wild card at 80-67.
