Miles Mikolas made his Texas Rangers debut and his MLB starting debut on Wednesday night in Baltimore after the Rangers called him up from Triple-A Round Rock to fill the roster spot of Joe Saunders, who was designated for assignment.
You couldn't have possibly expected too much from the right-hander against a pretty stacked Baltimore Orioles lineup, so when he went five innings and allowed three runs, you have to be pretty happy with that.
Mikolas was as advertised — owner a hard sinker — and also spotted his fastball well early in the game with low- to mid-90s velocity. That's enough to get you through a couple of times in the lineup, and that's exactly what the converted reliever did.
Unfortunately, Jason Frasor and Neal Cotts didn't do him any favors, as the normally reliable relievers continued their rough stretch by allowing a couple of inherited runners to score and a game-tying solo homer off Cotts to Ryan Flaherty, of all people.
Mikolas will get another shot in Arlington against the Astros next week, as it sounds like he's in the rotation for the time being, presumably until Derek Holland returns from his knee surgery, whenever that happens.
