By admin 
The Arizona Diamondbacks and Texas Rangers, World Series opponents in 2023, enter a weekend series with a different mission: merely making the postseason.
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Both teams are locked in fights for playoff spots heading into the three-game set that begins Friday in Phoenix.
Arizona right-hander Merrill Kelly (9-13, 5.06 ERA), who spent time with both teams last season, will oppose Rangers right-hander Kumar Rocker (5-11, 4.61).
The Diamondbacks (78-69) are one-half game behind the San Diego Padres (78-68) for the third and final National League wild-card spot entering a nine-game homestand.
The Rangers (72-75) are alive in two races, but they have more ground to cover. They are three games behind the first-place Houston Astros (75-72) in the AL West and two games behind the Cleveland Guardians (74-73) for the third AL wild card.
Texas has lost four of six after blowing a three-run lead in a 4-3 loss at Seattle on Thursday afternoon, wasting six scoreless innings and 12 strikeouts by Jacob deGrom. Former Diamondback Joc Pederson hit his 26th homer, tying Jake Burger for the team lead.
“We’re going to feel this one, no doubt,” Texas manager Skip Schumaker said postgame. “Going to feel it for probably the rest of the night. Then have to flush it right away when we get to Arizona. That’s just part of being a big-leaguer.”
The Diamondbacks had a four-game winning streak broken by a 5-2 loss at Kansas City on Wednesday. Arizona is 33-22 since July 9, tied with the Milwaukee Brewers for the best record in the NL during that span.
Arizona is averaging 2.5 runs over the past 10 games, well off its season average of 4.4 runs per game.
“Overall, I feel like the offense is trending in the right direction, but we have to find a way to score more runs,” Diamondbacks manager Torey 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.”
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The Diamondbacks played their past two games without All-Star right fielder Corbin Carroll. He was a late scratch Tuesday due to lower back discomfort and did not play Wednesday.
However, he is expected back in the lineup on Friday after an MRI revealed no significant issues, ArizonaSports.com reported.
Carroll is 5-for-44 (.114) with one homer and three RBIs in his past 12 games. On the season, he is batting .240 with a .334 on-base percentage, a .466 slugging percentage and a major-league-high 16 triples. He is third on the team 19 homers and fifth with 61 RBIs.
Kelly had a nice run in July, going 3-0 with a 1.95 ERA in five starts to drop his ERA to 4.86, the lowest it had been since his first start of the season. Since the start of August, he is 1-5 with a 5.63 ERA.
The 37-year-old veteran is coming off consecutive quality starts against San Francisco and Houston. He took a 3-1 loss to the Astros on Sept. 4 after giving up three runs, all in the third inning, in a six-inning stint.
Kelly is 1-0 with a 3.09 ERA in two career starts against the Rangers. Pederson is 8-for-28 (.286) with two doubles and two triples against him, and Corey Seager is 0-for-5.
Rocker owns a 1-3 record and a 6.75 ERA in his past six appearances. His last outing was in bulk relief, when he entered in the third and gave up five runs in five innings during a 7-6 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on Sept. 4.
He faced the D-backs for the first time on May 13, and he threw five scoreless innings in a no-decision.
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–Field Level Media
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This story was originally published September 11, 2026 at 3:42 AM.