Palumbo puts blister issue behind him with 4 K's

ARLINGTON -- The Rangers are trying to evaluate as many young players as they can at the end of the season, and they were finally able to lay their eyes on rookie left-hander Joe Palumbo.

Palumbo has been sidelined with a blister on his left thumb since Aug. 20, but was able to pitch two scoreless innings in the Rangers' 6-1 loss to the Athletics on Sunday afternoon at Globe Life Park. The Rangers tried to pitch this game out of their bullpen, but ended up being swept in the three-game series to fall three games under .500.

• Box score

“It definitely felt good to get out there and compete with these guys,” Palumbo said. “I’m just happy my thumb held up well and felt great coming out. No problems at all.”

Palumbo was activated before the game after being on the Minor League injured list since Aug. 22. His last outing was on Aug. 20 when he pitched 1 2/3 innings against the Angels. In that game, he allowed three runs before leaving with a nasty blister on his left thumb that took three weeks to completely heal.

Everything went smoothly on Sunday afternoon.

“Yeah, he looked really good; the four punchouts in two innings,” manager Chris Woodward said. “I thought early in the fourth inning, I wasn't sure. ... I kind of saw him looking at his [thumb], but his [thumb] actually turned out fine. I thought he was throwing the ball really well."

Palumbo, who walked two and struck out four, took over in the fourth inning and retired the side in order. Jurickson Profar grounded out, Sean Murphy struck out and Robbie Grossman flied out to right field.

In the fifth, Palumbo faced five batters and none of them put the ball in play. He walked Marcus Semien, fanned Matt Chapman and Matt Olson, walked Mark Canha and struck out Seth Brown.

“His curveball looked really sharp,” Woodward said. “I was worried about that because that was what got the blister going last time. But overall, he looked pretty comfortable that first inning, and then came back up. Got us two scoreless. Really good, a really good sign moving forward.”

Though Palumbo was used out of the bullpen on Sunday, the Rangers still see his future as a starter. Palumbo, Brock Burke and Kolby Allard are all highly regarded young left-handers who are being evaluated this month, and will have a chance to win a job in Texas' rotation next spring.

But it’s going to be a tough competition to join a rotation that already includes Mike Minor and Lance Lynn. The Rangers aren’t likely to leave three spots open in the rotation for untested young pitchers. They are expected to look for at least one, possibly two, proven veteran starters from what appears to be a relatively deep free agent pitching class.

As for now, however, Palumbo, Burke and Allard are getting invaluable experience at the big league level -- and the Rangers are interested to see how they handle it.

“Show us what you've got in a state of competition,” Woodward said. “Clearly teams have got a lot to play for. So the stakes are high for the guys they are facing. So we'll see who handles what. Yeah, they're not going to win the job for next year today, but it actually helps us see what we actually have in those guys. And I'm excited -- I'm excited about seeing them."