Martin Perez: “I Didn't Expect to be Back So Soon”

Colby Lewis was scheduled to take the mound for the Rangers tonight in Arlington, for game two of their three-game set with the Boston Red Sox. But, as you may have heard, Lewis is done for the year after it was discovered that he has a torn flexor tendon in his right elbow--an injury that will require serious surgery.

In his place will be 21-year-old Martin Perez, a highly-touted prospect who’s had a pretty eventful week to this point.

Perez was optioned to Triple-A Round Rock last Wednesday to make room for the aforementioned Lewis, leaving the Rangers after spending about three weeks with the big club--a span in which he made four appearances and two starts, earning a record of 1-1 with an ERA of 5.54.

In an unexpected turn, Perez’s return of the minors was to be short-lived.
 
"I didn't expect to be back so soon," Perez told the team's official website. "But they brought me back because they trust me. And if they trust me, I have to fulfill what they expect from me."

In his return to big league action, Perez will go against Boston’s Clay Buchholz, who comes to Arlington with an 8-3 record and a 5.19 ERA.