July 22, 2016
Yu Darvish came back to the mound for the Texas Rangers Saturday and was smoking hot—but the Chicago Cubs were a tad hotter and won the game 3-1.
It was Darvish’s first loss in four outings this season—and his first outing since June 8 when he left the game with discomfort in his neck and shoulder.
The Rangers are suffering. With three of their five starters incapacitated at some time over the last month, the team lost 11 of its 14 games through Darvish’s loss.
Darvish looked great, however. The radar gun recorded two of his fastballs at 98 miles per hour, showing he hadn’t lost any speed. What’s more, the old strikeout king struck out nine batters over 4 1/3 innings.
This is only the fifth time in Rangers history that a pitcher has struck out at least nine batters while throwing fewer than five innings. So the team—and the fans—seem convinced Darvish has not lost any of his talents as a result of his Tommy John surgery.
Despite the string of losses, the Rangers remain in first place in the American League West and are 4 1/2 games ahead of their nearest competitor.