Rangers’ Austin Bibens-Dirkx makes first start on Wednesday

Austin Bibens-Dirkx will make his first major league start Wednesday for the Rangers.

Bibens-Dirkx, 32, is pitching in place of injured right-hander A.J. Griffin, who is on the disabled listed with a strained intercostal muscle.

He has made four appearances, including his last on Friday in Toronto when he pitched four innings of emergency relief when Griffin was injured in the second inning. He also pitched 4 2/3 innings of one-hit, scoreless relief on May 20 when Griffin left in the fourth inning.

“I’m pretty excited about. It’s something I’ve worked for for 11-plus years and hopefully I can go out there and continue to make pitches,” said Bibens-Dirkx, who held the Blue Jays to three runs, including two solo homers. “I feel like it’s going to be a similar feeling [to major league debut]. You just try to settle the emotions a little bit as best I can.”

He allowed seven earned runs in 16 2/3 innings over three starts for Triple A Round Rock.

“It’s something I’m not necessarily uncomfortable with. I can use my experience and hopefully come out tomorrow and at least get five [innings],” he said.

This story was originally published May 30, 2017 at 6:07 PM with the headline "Rangers’ Austin Bibens-Dirkx makes first start on Wednesday."