Rangers' Martin Perez: Makes changes to delivery

Perez adjusted his delivery for Sunday's game against the Mariners, Gerry Fraley of the Dallas Morning News reports. The left-hander, who entered the game with a 13.14 ERA, got the win in his best effort of the season.

Manager Jeff Banister insisted Perez was not pitching for his job Sunday, but with Doug Fister (hip) set to return to an over-crowded rotation, the notion of replacing Perez was out there if he pitched poorly again. The changes he made involved getting his hand out of the glove quicker and throwing more over the top than he had in previous outings. The changes produced better action on the sinker and curveball. The other significant development Sunday was that Perez did not let innings get out of control. He retired the side just once -- the first time that's happened all season -- so there was traffic on the basepaths he had to navigate. He defused a bases-loaded jam in the second, and when he allowed two runs in the fifth and looked like he might lose control, he induced three consecutive outs. It was a reassuring effort for those invested in Perez, whose next outing is expected to be Saturday or Sunday on the road against the Blue Jays.