Just a week after the Texas Rangers acquired veteran relief pitcher/spot starter Travis Blackley from the Houston Astros, the lefty will make his debut with the Rangers on Tuesday night in a spot start against the Astros.
Blackley, who spent much of his career in Oakland, had a lot of success against the Rangers during his days with the A's and was acquired last week for cash considerations after the Astros had optioned Blackley to the minor leagues.
Over the course of his career, Blackley has made 23 starts, 15 of which came last year for Oakland when the A's ran into some injury trouble in their rotation and Bartolo Colon was hit with a 50-game suspension for PED use.
This season, Blackley was a reliever for the Astros and posted a 4.89 ERA in 42 appearances. Now, he will have a shot to get back at the team that let him go.
The Australian-born lefty went 6-4 with a 3.86 ERA in Oakland last season. He had a stretch when he made seven straight starts and compiled a 2-2 record with a 3.19 ERA with 25 strikeouts and nine walks.
Ross Wolf will remain as the team's long-relief man and could be called upon after Blackley reaches his limit. On Thursday in Round Rock, Blackley threw three innings in a start and will be pitching on four days of rest. The hope has to be for him to be able to throw around 60 pitches, which would likely require the services of Wolf, no matter how the game is going, so the team doesn't burn through its bullpen before Wednesday's series finale with Houston.
