Rangers reliever-turned-starter-turned-reliever Neftali Feliz made his 2013 debut against the Twins this afternoon, recording five outs, surrendering just one hit and recording two strikeouts. He came on in relief of starter Travis Blackley with two outs in the fifth. Against Darin Mastroianni, Feliz showcased all four of his pitches, including a fastball that touched 94 MPH, about the same level where it was last year.
Feliz went on the disabled list with an elbow injury last year after a start against the Astros on May 18. He underwent Tommy John surgery on August 1. Prior to his injury, he had compiled a 3.16 ERA in 42.2 innings spanning seven starts and one relief appearance.
The Rangers couldn’t muster much of an offensive attack as Twins starter Kevin Correia pitched seven solid innings. Reliever Jared Burton surrendered a solo home run to A.J. Pierzynski in the bottom of the eighth, but that was all. Glen Perkins pitched a perfect ninth with two strikeouts to notch his 32nd save of the season.
