ARLINGTON -- It took until the final weekend of Spring Training, but right-hander Andrew Cashner finally made his 'A' game debut for the Rangers. If the performance was an indication of things to come, it was worth the wait.
Cashner, who was slowed most of the spring by right biceps soreness, pitched three hitless innings to earn the save in the Rangers' 3-0 exhibition win over the Royals at Globe Life Park.
Cashner had pitched in two Minor League games before Friday. He needed just 30 pitches to get his work in, walking one and striking out one.
"It's never easy," Cashner said. "I was just out there trying to make my mechanics right and make pitches. I missed some time so it's definitely building back up and getting some strength."
The Rangers will open the season with a four-man rotation and won't need a fifth starter until April 15. That No. 5 starter could be Cashner if he's built up enough innings by then in rehab appearances as he's expected to open the season on the disabled list. That's not what his thinking is right now.
"I just know I was supposed to pitch today and I'll find out tomorrow," Cashner said of his plan. "It's just me getting to the amount of pitches everyone else is getting to. I definitely have to get to 90 pitches before I would pitch in a game here. It's going through the same process everyone else went through in Spring Training. You definitely don't want to rush it now."
Cashner received two injections for the soreness on March 10 and he didn't pitch in a game until working two innings in a Minor League contest 12 days later.