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McCarthy scheduled to make 2008 debut

Aug 23, 2008 - 10:19 AM Cleveland (60-67) at Texas (63-66) 8:05 p.m. EDT

ARLINGTON, Texas (Ticker) -- Brandon McCarthy is finally ready to take the mound for the Texas Rangers.

McCarthy is expected to be activated from the disabled list on Saturday when the Rangers host the Cleveland Indians.

The 25-year-old righthander, who was 5-10 with a 4.87 ERA in 2007 - his first season with Texas after being acquired from the Chicago White Sox, went on the DL in spring training with severe inflammation of his right forearm.

McCarthy is 1-1 with a 3.38 ERA in five starts at Class AAA Oklahoma, firing 13 consecutive scoreless frames over his last two starts.

While he has looked good of late, McCarthy knows it's time to fulfill high expectations.

"It's been that time for a while," said McCarthy, who was advised by club president Nolan Ryan to use his legs more in his delivery to take stress off his arm. "At least now I have a gear to put it in rather than sputtering along and just hoping things go well. Now, I can force the issue knowing that I can focus on pitching rather than worrying about not getting hit."

Jeremy Sowers (2-6, 5.46 ERA) tries to win back-to-back starts for the Indians, who are aiming for a season-high sixth straight victory.