Alexi Ogando wasn't dominant in his return from the disabled list on Tuesday, not like his teammate Yu Darvish who came off the DL on Monday to throw 6 1/3 shutout innings in a 3-0 win.
But Ogando, who made his second start in as many months with one start against Boston last month sandwiched between two DL stints, showed some promising signs in his outing, in a game the Rangers lost 5-4 after just the second blown save of the season from closer Joe Nathan.
First off, his velocity was great, touching 96 mph at times. Second, he rebounded from a rough go in the early innings to turn in a solid 1-2-3 fifth inning, his final inning of the night as he threw 78 pitches in the five-inning outing.
The most encouraging thing for Ogando will be if he can make his next start after hitting the DL following just one start off a previous one earlier this season. There was no talk of soreness after the game, and Ogando should be ready to go again Sunday in Cleveland.
"He gave us five innings of stressful pitching," Washington told reporters after the game. "He had to battle to get through five. After the fifth inning, in which he appeared to get a little stronger, that's all we needed."
