We've heard for weeks now that pitching reinforcements were on the way for the Texas Rangers.
Colby Lewis is back after 21 months away from Major League Baseball, and the results, so far, have been solid. Next on the docket is the return of lefty Matt Harrison, who made his first two starts of the 2013 before hitting the DL for the remainder of the year with multiple back surgeries.
Harrison was hoping to return to the Rangers' rotation for this upcoming series in Oakland. That was the plan all along, but some bad weather and inefficient rehab outings put a little dent in those plans. But after his most recent rehab outing, Harrison is stating his case to return sooner rather than later.
Harrison worked eight scoreless innings on Saturday for Double-A Frisco against Houston's Double-A affiliate from Corpus Christi, a highly thought of minor-league lineup. He saw his fastball hit 94 mph, which is by far the best velocity he's had in his rehab stint.
"Not worrying about pitch counts, just going out there and competing,” Harrison said about his successful start for Frisco. “That made a huge difference. I felt like myself again. We’ll see what happens from there.”
