Rangers RHP Kohei Arihara Joins Express on Rehab Assignment

ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico – The Texas Rangers announced on Friday afternoon that RHP Kohei Arihara is joining the Round Rock Express to continue his Major League Rehab Assignment. The righty is scheduled to start in tonight’s contest against the Albuquerque Isotopes (Colorado Rockies affiliate). First pitch from Rio Grande Credit Union Field at Isotopes Park is set for 7:35 p.m. CT.

Arihara has been sidelined since May 9 after surgery to repair an aneurysm in his right shoulder. Prior to the injury, the 29-year-old posted a 2-3 record and a 6.59 ERA (21 ER/28.2 IP) in seven starts with the Rangers. He tallied 17 strikeouts to 12 walks in his first career action at the Major League level. He began his rehab assignment with a start for the Double-A Frisco RoughRiders on August 22, allowing a hit while striking out two in 2.0 scoreless innings.

The Hiroshima, Japan native joined the Rangers in December after a six-year career with the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters of the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) Pacific League in Japan. During his time in Japan, Arihara went 60-50 with a 3.74 ERA (347 ER/836.0 IP) across 129 games, including 125 starts, from 2015-2020. During that span, he ranked third among all league pitchers in wins and was seventh overall in innings pitched.

In his final season with Hokkaido in 2020, Arihara ranked among league leaders in complete games (T-3rd, 3), innings pitched (2nd, 132.2), ERA (3rd, 3.46), starts (T-3rd, 20) and wins (T-7th, 8) while also leading his club in starts, innings and wins, and posting the second-most strikeouts for any Fighters hurler with 106.

A year prior, he set a new career high with 15 wins in 2019, also posting the league’s lowest batting average against (.191) and second-lowest ERA (2.46). He earned NPB All-Star honors and was voted as the league’s second-best pitcher at the end of the season. One of the highlights of his 2019 campaign, Arihara tallied a career-high 13 strikeouts in a four-hit complete game shutout on May 30, 2019 against Chiba.

Arihara was selected in the first round of the 2014 NPB Pro Draft after a standout collegiate career at Waseda University in Tokyo, where he finished with a 2.72 ERA in 62 games. He is scheduled to start for Round Rock in tonight’s 7:35 p.m. contest against Albuquerque. Round Rock returns home on Thursday, September 9 to open a six-game homestand against the Sugar Land Skeeters (Houston Astros affiliate) at 7:05 p.m.

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