ARLINGTON -- Rangers catcher Isiah Kiner-Falefa recorded his first caught stealing Monday night when he threw out Jake Marisnick in the ninth inning of a 2-1 loss to the Astros. It was a big deal for him, because throwing has been an area of emphasis for Kiner-Falefa behind the plate.

“That felt good,” Kiner-Falefa said. “That felt really good after all the work we have put in.”

Kiner-Falefa, a converted infielder who only started catching part-time in 2016, put in a substantial amount of work on his throwing this spring in preparation for a full-time role as a catcher. The work with bench coach Don Wakamatsu covered many areas but throwing out base stealers is the most visible part of a catcher’s defensive skills.

“I remember I threw out my first guy in the Minors before I ever hit my first home run,” Kiner-Falefa said. “That was awesome.”

Kiner-Falefa was not bad last year as a rookie, throwing out seven of 24 attempted basestealers last season, per Statspass. That was a 29.1 success rate that was above the American League average of 24.9 for all catchers.

There are two ways for Kiner-Falefa to get better. One is to throw over the top rather than a three-quarters, which is what Kiner-Falefa was used to doing playing the infield. It didn’t help that he was shuffling between catcher and the infield last season.

“I was in between,” Kiner-Falefa said. “I didn’t have time to work on anything because I had to work on everything. This year I have been focusing on getting over the top and it has helped me a lot.”

The other is getting more velocity on his throws. Kiner-Falefa is quick and athletic, but sometimes that can be a disadvantage if he is not getting maximum arm strength.

“He so quick with his release, he had nothing on it,” manager Chris Woodward said. “We’re trying to incorporate it where he can get something on the throw. Last night was right on the money, it was not only quick but had arm strength behind it. Somewhere in the middle is the maximum.”

Rangers pitching staff prepares for Interleague series
Woodward is bracing for the inevitable. His pitchers -- specifically Mike Minor and Edinson Volquez -- have to hit next week when the Rangers play the D-backs in Phoenix on Tuesday and Wednesday. They will be without a designated hitter in the National League city, and that makes Woodward queasy.

He and his coaching staff have talked about the pitchers taking batting practice, but may have them start slowly by hitting off the tee. The No. 1 concern for American League pitchers batting is getting hurt doing something they only do occasionally.

“Obviously it’s only two games, but we don’t want anybody getting hurt,” Woodward said. “Start them hitting off the tee, progress into something where they can swing the bat.”

Minor had a single in three at-bats for the Rangers last season and two home runs for the Braves in 2013-14. Volquez and Shelby Miller both have one career home run, but they came in 2013.

“One home run doesn’t make a home run hitter,” Woodward said.

Rangers beat:
• The Angels are scheduled to pitch Matt Harvey (RHP), Felix Pena (RHP), Tyler Skaggs (LHP) and Chris Stratton (RHP) against the Rangers this weekend in Anaheim.

• The Rangers are also scheduled to face right-hander Zack Greinke and left-hander Robbie Ray against the D-backs on Tuesday and Wednesday next week in Arizona.

• Adrian Sampson took the loss Monday, allowing one run in six innings in relief. That’s only the 10th time in Rangers history that a reliever has pitched at least six innings and been left with the loss. It happened seven times between 1972 and 1979, but just three times since then: Gil Heredia in 1996, Ross Wolf in 2013 and Sampson on Monday night.