Washington says Ogando throwing well

ARLINGTON -- Alexi Ogando had a rough outing on Tuesday night against the Rockies. He faced eight hitters and seven reached base on six hits and a walk. Ogando has allowed nine runs over 4 1/3 innings in his last five starts, but manager Ron Washington actually praised the way he threw on Tuesday night.

"Ogando is throwing the ball well," Washington said. "His velocity is good and his slider is sharp. Everything is location. He just has to get the ball in a better spot. To me last night he pitched in some bad luck, some balls falling in that could have been caught.

"He's healthy, he's throwing the ball well, the velocity is there. He just has to throw in better location and throw in better luck."

Ogando had 18 appearances going into Wednesday's games, the most in the American League. He was sixth in pitches thrown by a reliever and tied for 17th in relief innings.

"That's an excuse," Washington said of the heavy workload. "He has to do better."