HOUSTON -- Monday, in a 6-3 series-opening loss to the Houston Astros at Daikin Park, the topic of discussion was the decisions made that led to a loss in the season-long Silver Boot Series race and the roster circumstances that forced the Texas Rangers into them as their postseason window slims.

Both can be explored through the usage of their starter.

Right-hander Jack Leiter allowed five runs -- three of which were earned -- on 102 pitches in 6 ⅔ innings. The Rangers let Leiter, then at 90 pitches, throw the seventh inning after he allowed a two-run home run to rookie Zach Cole in the fifth and retired the side in order in the sixth. The result was two more Houston runs, a larger hole for the Rangers to dig themselves out of and a slight tumble down the American League wild card ladder.

It was partly because the Rangers believed Leiter, who has a 3.07 ERA in the season's second half, was in form after the sixth. The team's worn-down bullpen, which was devoid of its best arms after a tight series against the New York Mets this weekend, might've played an equally large factor in the decision.

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Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said that Leiter was perfectly fine to pitch the seventh and that he "probably" would have thrown that inning even if the bullpen was freshly stocked.

"The bullpen's been used quite a bit," Bochy said "The plan was to get as deep as we could him."

Leiter, who has pitched past the sixth inning just twice this season, blamed the seventh on a lack of execution, not the workload, and acknowledged a number of "bad pitches" that he threw.

He missed on three balls to Jesús Sánchez before the left fielder laced a low-and-in-the-zone fastball for a two-out double. He left a slider up in the next at bat that shortstop Jeremy Peña hit for a double to give the Astros a two-run lead. Bochy said that Peña was Leiter's batter regardless. Right-hander Jacob Webb replaced him before the next at bat and allowed Houston to score its sixth run on a Zach Cole single.

The Rangers were without four of their highest-leverage bullpen arms in Shawn Armstrong, Hoby Milner, Cole Winn and Chris Martin for Monday's series opener as they navigate a roster-wide crunch due to injuries and usage.

Armstrong, Milner and Winn had each thrown in back-to-back games against the New York Mets on Saturday and Sunday. Martin was unavailable after he received injections for a bout of numbness in his right hand. Bochy is hopeful that Martin will be available by Wednesday's game.

He wasn't Monday, though, and it in part forced Leiter to work.

"It kind of becomes extra attack mode," Leiter said of the thinned relief staff. "Make them hit it, and if they're going to score, keep putting the ball in play and kind of submit yourself to the batted-balls-in-play luck. [I was] fortunate enough to get some quick outs and get deep into the game and cover for the 'pen a little bit. Obviously there's always frustration with games like these."

Leiter, for the record, said that he felt physically fine in the seventh inning and was "grateful" that the Rangers left him in. The 25-year-old former second overall draft choice has a 3.82 ERA in 27 starts this season and has developed into a legitimate mainstay within baseball's best rotation in his first full major league season.

Monday's game -- against the team directly ahead of Texas in the American League wild card race with less than two weeks left in the regular season -- was as critical as any that he's started as a professional.

"Those are the moments you want to be in," Leiter said. "Pitching deep into a game, obviously didn't get the job done, but I was excited to be out there for that."

Leiter made a mess in the first inning with two hits, a walk, a hit batter and a throwing error that allowed two runs score. Houston third baseman Carlos Correa hit a comebacker to the mound with two runners on base. Leiter fielded the ball, slipped and airmailed his throw to first baseman Jake Burger from an off-kilter position. Peña, who singled, and Yordan Alvarez, who walked, both scored to give the Astros a two-run lead.

"That's an out that you want to turn into an out," Leiter said. "Maybe I ran too aggressively, or something, and caused the slip. It was one of those unfortunate things and I tried to make a good throw from a position you never really make a throw from."

The collective Rangers can at least relate.

They know a thing or two about tricky positions.

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Jack Leiter holds up in biggest Rangers start yet, but thin bullpen put him in tricky spot