Oswalt prepared for Texas debut
Roy Oswalt will return to a major league mound Friday night in Texas, familiar ground for the veteran right-hander who started his career in Houston 11 years ago.
The 34-year-old Oswalt will make his debut for the Rangers at home against the Colorado Rockies after starting four minor league games since signing with Texas on May 29.
Oswalt’s last major league appearance was with Philadelphia in a Game 4 loss to St. Louis in the N.L. division series.
Oswalt said Wednesday he didn’t have as much soreness as he expected after his last minor league start, when he threw 100 pitches and allowed six hits and two runs in six innings Sunday for Triple-A Round Rock. He said he was regaining command of his curveball.
“I think I’m ready as far as arm strength. Body’s doing great,” said Oswalt, who was 1-1 with a 5.87 ERA in the four minor league starts.
Oswalt has a 159-93 record with a 3.21 ERA in 339 career games.
Managers bicker
Davey Johnson says Joe Maddon should “read the rulebook.” Maddon says the rulebook shouldn’t always rule in the “self-policing” world of major league baseball – and that if anyone was cheating, it was Johnson.
The managers of the Washington Nationals and Tampa Bay Rays weren’t exactly playing kiss-and-make-up in baseball’s latest spat: Johnson’s decision to challenge Tampa Bay reliever Joel Peralta’s glove in Washington’s 5-4 loss the night before.
The umpires found pine tar on Peralta’s glove. He was ejected from the game and expects a suspension of up to 10 days from Major League Baseball.
Maddon was furious after the game, calling Johnson’s actions “cowardly,” “bush” and “bogus.” Johnson knew about the pine tar because had inside information on Peralta, who pitched for the Nationals in 2010.
Clearing the bases
Colorado shortstop Troy Tulowitzki will have surgery on his left groin area today and it’s unknown when he’ll return … Atlanta pitcher Brandon Beachy is going to have reconstructive surgery on his right elbow today, and will miss the rest of the season. The 25-year-old Beachy is tied for the major league lead with a 2.00 ERA and is 5-5 in 13 starts … Angels right-hander Jerome Williams was placed on the 15-day disabled list two days after suffering an asthma attack. The move conveniently opened up a roster spot for Jered Weaver, sidelined 19 games with a bad back … Boston signed shortstop Deven Marrero, their first-round pick in this month’s draft. He was signed to a bonus of $2.05 million. In three seasons at Arizona State, he batted .325 with 12 homers, 95 RBIs and 32 stolen bases.