ARLINGTON -- The velocity is down. The movement is up.
It is a mix the Rangers feel will work well for Cole Hamels.
Hamels, who makes his third start of the year Sunday, has seen about a 2.5 mph drop in fastball velocity over his first two starts compared to the same stretch last year. Hamels has averaged 89.8 mph with his fastball compared to 92.3 mph last year. He has, however, added a slider and thrown his new slider more often to keep hitters off-balance. It resulted in an 11-strikeout, one-run outing against Oakland in five innings Tuesday.