As We Were Saying (Back in Early June), Texas Rangers’ Brandon McCarthy Looking Good

ARLINGTON - When Brandon McCarthy last took a big-league mound, the Rangers held a 4.5-game lead in the A.L. West. Almost 13 weeks and yet another D.L. stint later, he didn’t appear to miss a beat and helped the Rangers pull within 4.5 games of the Angels (and within 3.5 in the wild-card race).

The short-term benefit was obvious as McCarthy and Dustin Nippert allowed the Rangers to use 10 runs to sweep Toronto (5-2, 5-2) a day after 10 runs wasn’t nearly enough in one game. McCarthy limited the Blue Jays to three hits and two walks over 6.1 innings and took a shutout into the seventh.

Long term, McCarthy is hopeful his efforts since early June to reshape his pitching mechanics can prevent another recurrence of shoulder problems that have plagued his time in Texas.

“It wasn’t bad luck that I had this injury twice,” he said. “Something mechanically was breaking me down. I had to start over.”

McCarthy sought answers wherever he could, starting and ending with his pitching coaches and including just about anyone else in between.

“Mike [Maddux] gave me the building blocks for it,” McCarthy said. “I was finding people on the internet, anybody I could that had insight on mechanics. Just to find out different things, take in as much information as I could. … Terry Clark at [Triple-A] Oklahoma was the guy who finished it all. He saw a couple things that he wanted me to fix. He fixed those, and everything came together.”

In Tuesday’s nightcap, McCarthy moved his fastball and commanded it and his breaking pitches. It was the same stuff that led to his first career shutout at Houston in late May and saw him roll along as the Rangers’ No. 3 starter behind Kevin Millwood and Vicente Padilla.

Back then, Pudge Rodriguez was an Astro (didn’t play in that game). Tuesday night, Rodriguez was a guiding force for McCarthy.

“I didn’t shake once tonight,” he said. “I’m going to trust his judgment. He’s seen these hitters. He’s seen these situations.”

McCarthy said he was confident his rehab starts adequately prepared him, but he still shook some early butterflies. He came out after 95 pitches, the last of his 22 batters faced (Lyle Overbay) knocking in the only run off him. Said he went into the game with no numerical goals.

“I didn’t sit and put numbers in my head,” he said. “I wanted to go out and do what I did tonight, which was attack the zone and get deep into the game.”

Either McCarthy or Nippert will get the ball next week in Cleveland. Each said he’s ready to accept whatever decision manager Ron Washington makes.

“If [going to the bullpen] is what this team needs in the middle of a playoff run, then that’s my job,” McCarthy said. “When someone lets me know what’s happening, move forward. Right now, the main thing is to keep working.”