(Photo credit: Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

The Texas Rangers are angling for a playoff spot while the Milwaukee Brewers want to keep rolling to baseball's best record this season when they square off on Monday in the opener of a three-game series in Arlington, Texas.

The Brewers will send left-hander Jose Quintana (11-5, 3.72 ERA) to the mound to start while Texas will counter with southpaw Jacob Latz (1-0, 3.15) to be the first to the hill in what's expected to be a bullpen game.

Milwaukee arrives in Texas on the heels of a 10-2 win in Pittsburgh on Sunday that completed a three-game sweep over the Pirates. The Brewers (89-55), who have captured four of their past five games, continue to sport the best record in MLB and lead the National League Central by 7 1/2 games over the Chicago Cubs with 18 games remaining.

The Rangers (74-70) took two of three games from American League West front-running Houston over the weekend, moving to four games of the Astros in the standings while 1 1/2 games behind Seattle in the race for the league's final wild-card spot.

Quintana has won four of his past five decisions, going 4-1 in seven starts since Aug. 1. His most recent was a 6 1/3-inning stint in which he allowed three runs on seven hits and three walks and struck out six in the Brewers' 6-3 home win over Philadelphia on Wednesday.

That win was his first since Aug. 11 and a solid bounce-back from his previous start when he surrendered six runs on five hits and four walks in a home loss to Arizona on Aug. 28. Quintana remains one of Milwaukee's leaders, but the Brewers have had different players step up and help put them at the top of the game.

'We're here for something big,' Quintana said about his team's gumption. 'We know it's not going to be easy. At some point, we're going to feel fatigue. At some point, we need to support each other. Now is the perfect time to be together and keep fighting. We're staying in a really good position and we'll just keep it rolling. We're close.'

Quintana has a 2-2 record with a 3.40 ERA over 55 2/3 innings in 11 career appearances (nine starts) against the Rangers. He last faced Texas in 2023 when he was a member of the New York Mets and hasn't beaten the Rangers since 2016 when he pitched for the Chicago White Sox.

Latz takes the ball for the 29th time this year and his sixth start. His most recent start was in Arizona on Tuesday and produced a no-decision after he allowed two runs on five hits and two walks over 5 1/3 innings in a game Texas lost 5-3.

None of Latz's starts this season have ended with a Texas win. His only victory of the season came in relief on June 14 at home against the White Sox when he pitched two scoreless innings, the last two, in a 5-4 win in 11 innings.

Latz is adapting to the role of a starter and is set to continue to have a spot in the rotation because Nathan Eovaldi will miss the rest of the season with a rotator cuff strain.

'Mindset's the same,' Latz said. 'The routine is a little different, being able to have a couple of days under your belt and get things right. I'm just trying to get my mind in the right position as if I was going to pitch that day. I try to get the normal starter rest, so a couple of days ago I was ready to pitch, and I think that helped going into the outing (against Arizona).'

Latz has just two career appearances against Milwaukee -- both of them in relief and both losses last year. He was shelled in each game, allowing a combined four runs on three hits and three walks over 2/3 of an inning.

--Field Level Media