Uehara expected back in bullpen Sunday

ARLINGTON -- Rangers reliever Koji Uehara is expected back off the disabled list on Sunday. He pitched a scoreless inning on Saturday for Triple-A Round Rock, allowing one hit and one strikeout while throwing 14 pitches. Uehara had a 2.11 ERA in 20 games before going on the disabled list on June 10 with a strained muscle in his right side.

To make room for Uehara, the Rangers will likely have to send down either left-hander Michael Kirkman or right-hander Tanner Scheppers. Both have options, but both have been pitching well.

Kirkman has pitched 7 1/3 scoreless innings in his last seven appearances, allowing three hits and four walks while striking out seven. Scheppers, who was called up on June 7, has a 1.46 ERA since the All-Star break.

"That's the way it goes," manager Ron Washington said. "Koji is a winning piece. He was one of our winning pieces before he went down. He's ready to go, so we're going to reinstate him. So far everything has gone well for him and we sent him through a lot to get him back here."

Rangers relievers went into Saturday's game having not allowed an earned run in their last combined 20 innings. They also have a 0.88 ERA in their last 14 games and a 2.64 ERA in August.