ARLINGTON -- Necessity brings The Age of Experimentation to the Rangers' pitching staff.
For openers: "The Opener."
A confluence of circumstances may make Saturday the perfect time for the Rangers to join the growing ranks of teams trying out a nontraditional approach to handling a traditional starter's duties.
Most significant among those circumstances: An attempt to rebuild Martin Perez. Originally scheduled to pitch Sunday on five days' rest, Perez could pitch Saturday. He just might not start. Instead, the Rangers could start a reliever for the first inning, then bring Perez in to pitch through the lineup, probably twice, before they hope to turn things over to the more traditional bullpen roles.