Hamels (oblique) made a rehab start for Double-A Frisco on Friday, covering three scoreless innings and giving up one hit and no walks while striking out three.
Hamels, who was making his first start since April 26 after being sidelined with a right oblique strain, needed only 35 pitches to navigate through the three frames. The Rangers initially planned to let the left-hander toss 55-60 pitches during the outing, but since he worked through the three innings more efficiently than expected, he tossed some more pitches in the bullpen once he was removed from the contest. Hamels' velocity topped out at 93 mph, but the Rangers are optimistic that he'll be able to pick up a few ticks as he builds up his endurance. He's expected to cover five or six innings in his second rehab start next Wednesday, and will likely require one more start after that before the Rangers bring him off the disabled list.