By this point, the Matt Bush back story is well known and is probably somewhat polarizing for both Rangers fans and on a national baseball scale.
But whatever the case, the 30-year-old rookie is performing at a high level since his call to The Show earlier this month.
Through his first nine appearances as a relief pitcher, the former No. 1 overall pick as a shortstop is 1-0 with a 0.93 ERA with nine strikeouts and one walk in 9 2/3 innings.
The Rangers have tried to pitch Bush on three consecutive days once this year in a series against the Angels, and the result was a mild concern for Rangers skipper Jeff Banister.
Bush, who was given a day off on Monday, will no longer pitch on three straight days — at least for now — as Banister said there was a concern over the steady drop in his fastball velocity on that third day back on May 25.
In that game, he allowed two hits and had no strikeouts, but he did keep the runners from scoring.
"I think we are all sitting on the 98-mph figure, but I don't know if that is what we thought he was going to have every night," Banister told reporters, via The Dallas Morning News. "I think the early adrenaline rush of being in the big leagues may have been a factor. Three days in a row was a challenge for him. I think we will utilize other options when we get to that kind of situation."
