(Photo credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images)

The Philadelphia Phillies will try to strengthen their spot at the top of the National League East when they battle the improving Texas Rangers on Friday in the opener of a three-game interleague series in Arlington, Texas.

The Phillies will sent left-hander Cristopher Sanchez (10-3, 2.40 ERA) to the hill while Texas will counter with newly acquired right-hander Merrill Kelly (9-6, 3.22 ERA).

Philadelphia heads to the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex with three wins its past four games and two straight series victories. The Phillies fell to Baltimore 5-1 on Wednesday in their most recent outing.

Friday's clash begins a nine-game road trip for Philadelphia, which enters the weekend 2 1/2 games clear of the New York Mets in the standings.

The Rangers secured a series win over the New York Yankees with victories on Monday and Tuesday before dropping the series finale 3-2 on Wednesday. Texas is in third place in the AL West, 4 1/2 games behind first-place Houston.

Sanchez has won five of his past six decisions, including a victory over Detroit on Sunday in which he allowed five hits and walked one while striking out six over eight scoreless innings. He needed just 84 pitches as the Phillies won 2-0.

'It's just beautiful,' Sanchez said via the team's interpreter after the win over Detroit. 'It's something special.'

It was a solid bounce-back by the NL Cy Young Award candidate after he surrendered four runs on seven hits and a walk over 6 2/3 innings in a loss at the White Sox on July 28 that snapped his personal four-decision winning streak.

Phillies mangers Rob Thomson calls Sanchez 'the full package.'

'It's just control,' Thomson said. 'Command of his fastball, changeup is just a swing-and-miss pitch. He can throw it at any time and he throws it for strikes. Because of the velocity people have to gear up for that then all of the sudden this changeup with great arm action and a lot of depth gets him out front and they swing and miss. He's really come on.'

Sanchez has never pitched against the Rangers in his 94-game career.

Kelly is tasked with matching Sanchez, and it's a tall order. He settled for a no-decision on Saturday at Seattle in his first start for the Rangers; he gave up two runs on four hits over 5 2/3 innings, with no walks and six strikeouts, in a game Texas won 6-4 in 11 innings.

The Rangers acquired Kelly from the Arizona Diamondbacks, where he had a stellar July -- going 2-2 in five starts and allowing nine total runs (eight earned) in 30 2/3 innings.

'I'm obviously happy to be here, happy to be with a team who's in a good spot and making a playoff push and playing competitive baseball for the rest of the year,' Kelly said. 'It means a lot. It's always good to go to a team who wants you there, and just to be in the rotation.

'It is definitely an honor to be with names like Jacob deGrom and Nate Eovaldi and all those guys. It's pretty fun, and I'm looking forward to the rest of the year.'

Kelly is 2-1 with a 2.73 ERA in five lifetime appearance against the Phillies covering 29 2/3 innings. He saw Philadelphia earlier this season when he was with the Diamondbacks, allowing a run on four hits in a five-inning no-decision.

--Field Level Media