Rangers' Kohei Arihara: Velocity down Friday

Arihara exhibited diminished velocity during Friday's start, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports.

Texas coaches entered Friday's contest concerned that Arihara was tipping pitches and are now worry about reduced velocity. He recorded just one swing-and-miss among his 55 pitches. "The speed on the split is like way lower," manager Chris Woodward said after the game. "So it's just, I don't know. I don't know if there's something. We asked him. He said he felt fine. I don't know if it's the four days rest. It's something we're going to have to address." The right-hander has allowed 11 runs and five home runs in 4.2 innings over his last two starts. Meanwhile, the Rangers got 4.1 scoreless innings out of reliever Hyeon-Jong Yang, who has shined in two bullpen-saving relief appearances this week. Woodward confirmed that Yang is being evaluated for a spot in the rotation, presumably as a replacement for Arihara.