Despite an up-and-down first half, the Texas Rangers find themselves in a good position coming out of the All-Star break.

Texas has been amongst the best teams in all of baseball this summer and enters the second half with a 1.5-game lead in the American League West.

On Friday night, the Rangers will begin quite the test to begin their stretch run as they open a three-game set with the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park.

First pitch in Friday’s series opener is scheduled for 6:15 p.m. CT. Fans can catch all the action on CW33 as part of their package to broadcast select Friday night Rangers games. The radio side of things will remain unchanged, with 105.3 The Fan having the call.

Cal Quantrill will take the mound for the Rangers as he once again fills in for the injured Jack Leiter.

Quantrill comes into play on the heels of perhaps his best outing of the season, where he went six innings and allowed just one run exactly one week ago against the Houston Astros at Globe Life Field. Quantrill did not earn the win in the game, but the Rangers did go on to claim a 7-3 victory behind a late home run from Jake Burger.

On the year, Quantrill has been a pleasant surprise for Texas, posting a 3-1 record with a 3.11 ERA in 46.1 innings pitched both as a starter and a reliever this season.

Friday night will mark a solid test for Quantrill as he squares off against a Braves offense that has been amongst the best in baseball for much of the season.

The Rangers bullpen will come in with some much-needed rest coming out of the All-Star break. One of the storylines of the second half will be how Rangers manager Skip Schumaker and his staff manage the group of relievers.

Currently, rookie right-hander Peyton Gray is the Rangers' second-highest leverage reliever behind All-Star closer Jacob Latz.

Texas hitters will have their work cut out for them on Friday as they face left-hander Chris Sale, who enters play with a 9-6 record and a 2.20 ERA.

Sale is one of the greatest lefties the game has ever seen, and the Rangers have had their well-documented struggles against left-handed pitching this season.

The Rangers will have to either find a way to get to Sale or get him out of the game and work on the Braves bullpen if they want to start their second half with a victory.

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