Scheppers Performs in Easier Spot

Even though Neftali Feliz was technically pinned with the heartbreaking walk-off loss to Seattle on Sunday, it just as easily could've gone to starter Ross Detwiler or even setup man Tanner Scheppers, who walked three of the four batters he faced to put Feliz in an awful spot.

After that game, manager Jeff Banister said the team would relax Scheppers' situations for a short time to help him re-acclimate himself to the majors after he perhaps rushed through a minor-league rehab assignment after missing much of spring training with an ankle injury.

“I think things snowballed a little on him," Banister told The Dallas Morning News prior to Tuesday's game. "You’d like your guys to have a stress management routine for when the game speeds up, but it’s going to happen to everybody. I still feel comfortable with Scheppers. The question: Do we back off a little? Maybe the next time we try to find something that is not such a high-stress situation."

That's exactly what Banister was able to do on Tuesday night, as the Rangers' offense exploded late to score six runs in the final two innings. That allowed Banister to get Scheppers in in the ninth inning, in which he gave up just one hit and struck out one — the last batter of the game.

Meanwhile, Shawn Tolleson was great in his appearance, and appears to be slotted for Scheppers' eighth-inning role for at least the time being. It'll be interesting to see how long it takes for Scheppers to give Banister the confidence to insert him into a high-leverage situation again.

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