With the way the Texas Rangers' starting rotation has come undone in recent weeks, they are waiting as patiently as they can for some reinforcements and have seen Colby Lewis suffer a minor setback along the way.
But they might get one of their guys back soon after a dominant performance for Triple-A Round Rock on Tuesday night as Martin Perez looks poised to be back in Arlington soon, especially with the way the Rangers starters seem to be dropping like flies.
Perez, who was the runaway favorite to win the No. 5 starter job in spring training before suffering a broken arm thanks to a comeback line drive, is in Triple-A Round Rock right now and turned in a gem on Tuesday night for the Express, probably his best pro outing to date.
Perez threw seven scoreless innings, needing just 77 pitches to get there, struck out seven, walked none and hit 97 mph on the radar gun once, while hitting 95-96 with some consistency. Look out.
“One of my best games,” Perez told the Austin American-Statesman. “I worked quickly and attacked the zone with quality pitches. I don’t want to give the hitter too much credit.”
Perez is now 1-1 with a 3.00 ERA in his two starts for Round Rock, and despite his young age (22) he might be in line for a promotion soon with Matt Harrison and Alexi Ogando both on the disabled list and Nick Tepesch missing Wednesday's start with a blister.