ARLINGTON – Another day, another pitching disaster dodged?<\/p>\n
Well, maybe.<\/p>\n
The Rangers<\/a> are not planning to put reliever Chris Martin on the IL, at least not yet. Martin, who threw just one official pitch Tuesday before leaving with \u201celbow tightness,\u201d<\/a> said an MRI Wednesday revealed no structural damage. The Rangers were encouraged enough that they decided to hold off at least a day.<\/p>\n The Rangers also held off another day on any decision on Luke Jackson, who took a line drive off his hand on the first pitch he threw Monday night<\/a>. <\/p>\n Rangers<\/p>\n \u201cReally good news on our relievers,\u201d Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said. \u201cJackson threw today and feels pretty good. He could possibly be ready [Thursday]. That\u2019s how fast he\u2019s healing. On Martin, the tests came out clean. We\u2019ll give him a day or two and see where we are at, but good news on both of them.\u201d<\/p>\n With big series coming up against Houston and at the New York Yankees, the Rangers would like to have their high-leverage bullpen pieces available to potentially close out games. In the interim, Bochy indicated the Rangers might turn to lefty Robert Garcia, if needed.<\/p>\n If nothing else, the episode should perhaps serve as a warning to the Rangers against trying to use the 38-year-old Martin on three consecutive days. Tuesday marked the first time in his major league career, that Martin had appeared in games on three consecutive days.<\/p>\n Martin had not worked a particularly heavy load in the first two days, throwing a total of 20 pitches over two perfect innings.<\/p>\n Martin said he heard a series of pops while throwing his final warmup pitches on the mound Tuesday, but wasn\u2019t sure of the issue and thought it would subside. When it persisted on his first pitch after entering the game, he came out. <\/p>\n Martin said he\u2019s experienced a \u201cpopping\u201d sensation at least once before in his career, but \u201cthis was new.\u201d<\/p>\n Find more Rangers coverage from The Dallas Morning News here<\/a>.<\/p>\n