Soto gets night off after catching 14 innings

ARLINGTON -- Rangers catcher Geovany Soto was supposed to start on Wednesday, but manager Ron Washington gave him the night off after he caught 14 innings on Tuesday.

The Rangers were still encouraged that Soto was able to hold up that long after missing the first half of the season while recovering from surgery on his right knee. He also missed two weeks with a strained right groin muscle and has played just six games this season.

"I asked him a couple of times how he felt and he said pretty good," Washington said. "That's why he's not playing today. He was supposed to go back-to-back [games]."

Tuesday marked the first time a Rangers catcher has been behind the plate for 14 complete innings since 2011.

"I felt great, my legs felt good," Soto said. "I was surprised, the whole night I felt really good. I feel like I'm at full strength. I still feel like it's Spring Training for me, I'm getting ready and everybody else is in midseason form. But as far as my strength, I feel like I'm 100 percent."

Soto was 1-for-6 on Tuesday with a big double in the Rangers' two-run seventh-inning rally that tied the game. He is 2-for-13 since returning last Friday from the groin injury. He is 6-for-24 in six games overall.

"My timing is a little off," Soto said. "I'm working with [hitting coach Dave Magadan] trying to get the right path through the zone. It's a matter of getting good pitches to hit."