Newly signed Rangers starting pitcher Roy Oswalt took the hill for Triple-A Round Rock on Saturday night. He hadn't thrown an organized pitch since last October in the "Rally Squirrel" game in St. Louis during the NLDS. This time out, Oswalt only threw two innings, which were scoreless frames. He wasn't perfect, allowing three hits and a walk while striking out one. Of his 34 pitches, 21 were strikes. (Info via MiLB.com gameday)
In the first inning, Oswalt worked out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam by getting a three-pitch strikeout and inducing a double-play ball.
Oswalt signed a one-year, $5 million deal this past week. He was 9-10 with a 3.69 ERA with the Phillies last season, while he battled back issues pretty much throughout the season. In his career, the three-time All-Star has six top-six finishes in NL Cy Young voting.
The Rangers haven't set an exact timetable for Oswalt to reach the majors, only that he'll make a "few" Triple-A starts. Surely he'll need to work up to about 85 game pitches until he's promoted.
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