Last Updated on May 27, 2007 5:09 pm by admin
FRISCO, Texas (AP) -Right-hander Kevin Millwood threw five scoreless innings for Double-A Frisco in a rehab assignment Sunday, and then left to rejoin the Texas Rangers.
“I’m scheduled to start on Friday in Seattle,” he said while icing his arm and left thigh. He said his strained left hamstring was fine.
“I thought it was five good innings,” said Rangers bullpen coach Dom Chiti, who accompanied Millwood to Frisco. “Kevin showed everyone he was healthy and his leg was fine. We started to see the velocity we expected from him.”
Millwood’s fastball reached as high as 93 mph, but generally was at 91 or 92.
“I thought I threw the fastball wherever I wanted to,” he said.
The hamstring problems initially put Millwood on the disabled list after a start April 28. In his first start after coming off the DL, Millwood aggravated the injury again and pitched only 1 2-3 innings before going back on the DL.
This time, the Rangers wanted their No. 1 starter to do a rehab start before returning to their rotation. He’s scheduled to start for Texas on Friday night in the opener of a weekend series against Seattle.
“It was either this or a simulated game, so it’s no big deal,” Millwood said. “I threw everything, and everything was good at times. It’s a tough situation to be in trying to get my work in while these guys are trying to win.”
Millwood retired the first eight Tulsa batters before allowing his only hit. He struck out three and walked one against the Colorado Rockies’ farm team while throwing 36 of his 56 pitches for strikes. Millwood received a no decision because the game was scoreless when he left.
Millwood is 2-4 with a 6.62 ERA in seven starts for Texas.
Jerry Hairston Jr., also on a rehab assignment from Texas because of a bulging disk in his neck, tied the game with a home run in the bottom of the sixth.
Hairston’s home run, against Tulsa starter Ryan Mattheus, was part of a 1-for-4 day that left him 2-for-12 (.167) in three games for Frisco. He will resume his rehab assignment at Triple-A Oklahoma beginning Monday.