Howard (shoulder) covered five innings and struck out six while allowing three runs on four hits and no walks in his most recent rehab outing Friday with Triple-A Round Rock.
Making the third appearance of his rehab assignment, Howard tossed 63 pitches (44 strikes). The Rangers haven't outlined their next steps for Howard, but he looks like he could be ready to return from the 15-day injured list and slot back into the big-league rotation at some point during the team's series this weekend in Anaheim. Before landing on the IL on Aug. 10 with right shoulder impingement syndrome, Howard had compiled a 7.41 ERA, 1.73 WHIP and 32:15 K:BB in 37.2 innings with Texas.