Colby Lewis out at least 2 months with lat strain

The Texas Rangers' ailing pitching staff was dealt yet another blow Wednesday, as the club announced right-hander Colby Lewis will miss at least two months with a strained right lat muscle.

Rangers general manager Jon Daniels said Lewis will be shut down for four weeks, at which point he'll undergo another MRI before determining whether he's ready to resume a throwing program.

Lewis exited Tuesday's start after five innings with what the club initially described as cramping in his triceps. Subsequent tests revealed the Grade 2 strain.

"These are kind of nagging soft tissue injuries that if you go too quick, they happen again," Daniels told reporters. "There's really no accelerating this kind of injury. You have to give it time."

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The news follows an injury-ridden week for the first-place Rangers, who also lost ace Yu Darvish and lefty Derek Holland to the disabled list because of shoulder issues. Hours before Lewis' diagnosis was revealed, the club placed Holland on the 15-day DL with shoulder inflammation.

Daniels said Lewis' injury was a "kick in the gut," according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan.

The timing couldn't have been any worse for Lewis, either, after the 36-year-old authored one of the best pitching performances of his career in his recent start at Oakland. Lewis lost a perfect game bid in the eighth inning and then had his no-hitter broken up in the ninth on a near-catch by outfielder Nomar Mazara.

''I feel like any time you go into the ninth and you haven't given up a hit, when it happens there's a disappointment there,'' Lewis said Friday. ''I'm not getting any younger. But I feel like it was a great day.''