The problem was that his teammates couldn’t hit anything and hence there was no Texas Ranger offense.
Texas fell to the Toronto Blue Jays 3-2 and Darvish was credited with his ninth loss against 12 wins.
But Darvish only walked a single Blue Hay while striking out 10, an impressive performance for a man who is definitely a strikeout king, but also a walk king this year.
“We had some chances for a base hit to make a difference,” manager Ron Washington said. “If we had made a difference with one base hit, it would have been our victory, I feel.”
Darvish had some trouble in the first inning, traditionally his weak spot, but was in control for most of the game.
After Darvish issued a five-pitch walk in the first inning with one out, slugger Edwin Encarnacion made him pay by getting a home run and the Rangers were behind 2-0.
But that was all Darvish needed to spark him. He went on to retire 13 of the next 14 batters he faced—striking out seven of them.
One more run was scored off of him in the fifth.
Darvish then finished the game by retiring the final seven batters he faced and 20 of 23 after Encarnacion got his home run.
Darvish recorded his second consecutive quality start after allowing at least five runs in each of his three previous outings.
More importantly, after walking at least three batters in seven consecutive starts, including 15 over his past three, Darvish didn’t walk another batter after the first inning.
He felt a mechanical adjustment allowed him to control the ball down in the strike zone and get strikeouts when he needed to with his fastball, cutter and slider, which fooled many Toronto hitters.
“I was able to throw with confidence tonight even if I fell down, 2-0, I didn’t panic,” said Darvish. “I was able to relax and make my pitches.”
It was the seventh time this season that Darvish has recorded double-digit strikeouts in a game, which is tops in the Majors. Darvish ranks fourth in the American League with 172 strikeouts.
“I think what was most impressive is that after he gave up the two-run homer, he settled in,” manager Washington said.
