Darvish went so far as to apologize to his coach, Ron Washington, for his miserable output.
This horrid game was against the Seattle Seahawks. His one other horrid performance was also against the Seattle Seahawks in his first game
Darvish’s ERA Monday against the Seahawks was 9.00. In his previous game against them, his ERA was 7.94. His worst performance against any other team so far has been 5.29.
And walks continue to bedevil Darvish. He gave up six Monday night in just four innings, the shortest period he has pitched so far in the US. That was the most walks he has given up in a single game in the US. It was also one short of his career-high of seven set in a game in Japan in 2009.
Among 115 pitchers in US Major League Baseball this year, Darvish unfortunately ranks third in the number of walks given up.
But he continues to be a strikeout king. He ranks sixth in terms of the number of strikeouts racked up.
Coach Washington said he pulled Darvish after just four innings not because of his bad stats but because he had already thrown 96 pitches, far more than he normally throws in four innings. “I told him we’re not out to try and kill him,” Washington said. “That was a lot of pitches in a short period of time. We need him for the rest of the year, not just one night.
But Washington summed up Darvish’s night this way: “The walks just killed him.” Darvish gave up six walks in four innings or 1.5 walks per inning. In his previous US games, he gave up 26 walks in 52 innings or 0.5 walks per inning.
The Texas Rangers lost the game to the Seahawks 6-1. Dar-vish also pitched last Wednesday night, leading the Rangers to a 4-1 victory over the Oakland Athletics. That game saw Darvish with an ERA of 1.25, his second best of the season, over 7.2 innings pitched. He gave up just two walks, tied for his best of the season.