ARLINGTON -- Left-hander Derek Holland (inflammation in left shoulder) is eligible to come off the 60-day disabled list on Saturday, when the Rangers play the Rays. That had been the next scheduled start for Lucas Harrell before he was placed on the 15-day DL on Wednesday.
But when the Rangers announced their probable pitchers for the weekend series in St. Petersburg, Holland was not among them. (Cole Hamels, A.J. Griffin and Martin Pérez will take the ball in the series.)
The Rangers, who are able to skip Harrell in the rotation because of an off-day on Thursday, are not ready to commit to when Holland will rejoin the team. Holland threw 75 pitches over five innings in his third rehab start with Triple-A Round Rock on Monday, including 15 extra pitches in the bullpen afterward. He said on Wednesday that he had not been given a timeline for his return.
"He's going to throw a bullpen [on Wednesday], we'll see how he responds from that," manager Jeff Banister said prior to the series finale vs. the A's. "Until we see how he responds to the outing, to the bullpen and how he gets through that, then we can make a timetable."
Banister isn't sure if Holland will make another rehab start. The Rangers don't need a fifth starter until Aug. 27 because of the off-day on Thursday and another one on Monday as well.
However, Banister didn't nix the idea of not sending Holland out on a rehab start and starting him sometime before Aug. 27. That would still give the rotation an extra day of rest as it prepares for the final month and a half of the regular season.
"You could say those things [about the rest] if he started any of those earlier days, too," Banister said.
DeShields to try batting No. 1 against left-handers: According to Banister, outfielder Delino DeShields will get "multiple looks" at the leadoff spot against lefties with Shin-Soo Choo on the 15-day disabled list with a fractured right forearm.
DeShields was in the top spot for the finale against the A's on Wednesday with lefty Sean Manaea starting for Oakland. Last season, DeShields started 94 games in the leadoff role and had a .360 on-base percentage against left-handers.
This season he has a .229 on-base percentage against left-handers, which was part of the reason he spent a little more than two months with Round Rock, but Banister likes what he's able to provide at the top of the order.
"I think you look at the body of the work over the last year and a half, the on-base [percentage], and he give us multiple threats, whether it's the hit threat or the walk threat," Banister said. "He gives us some speed on first, and with the set of hitters we have, they can create [opportunities] behind him."
Rare kind of win for Rangers:Rougned Odor's walk-off hit-by-pitch on Tuesday marked the second time in club history the Rangers have won in that fashion. The only other instance was on Sept. 11, 2010, when former Yankees closer Mariano Rivera hit Jeff Francoeur with the bases loaded.
It also gave the Rangers their 38th comeback win of the season, the most in the Majors, but it was the first time they won this year after being down by more than one run in extra innings. The last time the Rangers did that was on Aug. 1, 2012, against the Angels.