Rangers’ Hamels returns to site of no-hitter
The last time Cole Hamels made a start at Wrigley Field was nearly a year ago, and it’s one he will never forget.
He tossed the only no-hitter of his career July 25, 2015, striking out 13 and walking two to beat Jake Arrieta and the Chicago Cubs 5-0. That was Hamels’ final start for the Philadelphia Phillies before they traded him to the Texas Rangers on July 31.
Hamels is scheduled to start Sunday at Wrigley, but he won’t be strolling down Memory Lane once he’s on the mound.
“It was great, but it’s over,” Hamels said. “You kind of move past it. It’s a great memory, but I think the understanding is it doesn’t happen all the time. The thing that does happen is trying to go out and pitch great games and help your team win. That’s the main focus.”
Hamels’ no-hitter was sealed when former Rangers prospect Odubel Herrera caught a Kris Bryant fly ball. But it wasn’t that simple. Herrera tracked it to the wall and then had to lunge forward to make the catch.
“Unbelievable,” Hamels said. “If it was not a windy day, that was a home run. I think I had a lot of things in my favor.”
Said Bryant: “I made the last out on a crazy catch. I don’t know how he caught that ball. Sometimes it’s kind of cool to be a part of history.”
Choo out again
Right fielder Shin-Soo Choo was out of the lineup for a second straight game but available off the bench as he continues to deal with lower back stiffness.
Choo spent much of Friday getting treatment on his back, including time in an apparatus called The Back Project that Hamels purchased and brings with him on all road trips. The machine helps with spinal decompression.
Manager Jeff Banister said that he hopes Choo can return to the lineup Sunday for the series finale. The MRI exam Choo underwent Friday showed nothing significant.
“I think he’s gotten better,” Banister said. “We’ll give him another day.”
Right-hander Kyle Lohse continues to see improvement in his strained right oblique and threw a bullpen session Saturday. If he feels OK on Sunday, he will be the Rangers’ starter Tuesday.
Diekman throwing
Left-hander Jake Diekman said that he is able to grip and throw a baseball, but the cut on the tip of his index finger is bothered when he tries to use the seams on a ball.
Diekman, who was placed on the 15-day disable list Friday, threw out to 120 feet Friday, and he said that the finger, cut by a shard of glass from a broken souvenir mugs from the Cheers bar in Boston, is improving.
“It gets better every day,” Diekman said. “The cut is basically shut. It’s just taking it easy to make sure I don’t rip it again.”
Diekman said that the mugs were a gift for his father, who is a huge fan of the all-time great sitcom.
Leclerc optioned
Right-handed reliever Jose Leclerc was optioned to Triple A Round Rock to make room for Yu Darvish to come off the 15-day disabled list, and Leclerc went back to the minors with some guidance and encouragement from Banister.
The manager liked what he saw, with one exception.
“He’s got to get better at fastball command,” Banister said. “I liked that his stuff was able to get him out of innings, but you can’t just be a stuff guy.”
Leclerc impressed with a fastball that sat in the mid-90s and with two different changeups, but he walked eight in 5 2/3 innings and returned to the minors with his WHIP (2.25) higher than his ERA (1.59).
Jeff Wilson: 817-390-7760, @JeffWilson_FWST
This story was originally published July 16, 2016 at 8:29 PM with the headline "Rangers’ Hamels returns to site of no-hitter."