Tanner Scheppers wishes he had mixed up his pitches against Ichiro Suzuki. Rangers manager Ron Washington figures Yu Darvish would like to have a few back, too.
Scheppers gave up Suzuki's game-ending homer with two outs in the ninth inning that lifted the New York Yankees to a 4-3 victory over the Texas Rangers on Tuesday night.
"I think it was just the wrong pitch at the wrong time," said Scheppers, whose fastball reached 98 mph. "I probably showed him too many fastballs in that at-bat. Probably should have went with something different."
Scheppers (5-1) pitched a perfect eighth before being touched up by Suzuki in New York's first walk-off win this year.
Darvish gave up homers to Travis Hafner, Brett Gardner and Jayson Nix, the most he's allowed in 45 major league starts. The Japanese ace is winless in seven starts since May 16, when he beat Justin Verlander and the Detroit Tigers.
"He left some pitches in the wrong spot, two breaking balls and a cutter he tried to get down and in on Gardner and he just dropped the head on in there," Washington said. "He's pitching. I don't see any difference in what he's been doing. Maybe at times he throws pitches he can get away with, but he didn't get away with it tonight."
Leonys Martin connected twice off Yankees starter Hiroki Kuroda.
Sports Connection
Connecting you to your favorite North Texas sports teams as well as sports news around the globe.
Mariano Rivera (1-1) worked a scoreless ninth for New York, which ended the Rangers' five-game winning streak.
The anticipated matchup between Darvish and Kuroda, Japanese aces with ERAs under 3.00, fizzled on a hot and sticky night when a four-inning stretch produced five home runs.
The 11th major league matchup between starters from Japan got off to a sharp start. Even when the Yankees loaded the bases in the first on three straight singles that just cleared the gloves of leaping infielders, Darvish easily got out of the jam with a strikeout and an easy grounder.
But Martin started the home run barrage with a shot that landed a couple of rows back in the short right-field porch.
After the Rangers went up 2-0 on an unearned run in the fourth aided by rookie third baseman David Adams' throwing error, Hafner led off the bottom half with a long ball into the New York bullpen. Martin then started the fifth with a shot that landed several sections to the left of his first homer for his fifth of the year.
Not to be outdone, Gardner led off the Yankees' half with a line drive deep into the seats in right field to pull New York to 3-2.
Kuroda had his first perfect inning since the second in the sixth. And Nix promptly tied it with a soaring fly to left field that cleared the wall by several rows, snapping his homerless string at 202 at-bats. Nix last homered on April 7.
"My approach stays the same, no matter who I face and what number they are hitting in the lineup I face," Darvish said through a translator.
Pitching on extra rest because Texas chose to bring up top pitching prospect Martin Perez to start against St. Louis on Saturday and push everyone back a day, Darvish struck out six. He yielded seven hits and three runs.
Kuroda lasted into the seventh, lifted before facing Martin again. Boone Logan came in and struck out the No. 9 hitter.
Kuroda matched his line from the last time he faced Darvish on April 24, 2012 -- two earned runs and five hits in 6 2-3 innings. He also struck out six.
"The home runs I gave up, that was bad, but otherwise I think I pitched well," Kuroda said through a translator.
Texas took advantage of Adams' throwing error on Adrian Beltre's grounder to go up 2-0 in the fourth. Beltre reached when Adams' long throw skidded past first baseman Lyle Overbay with one out. A.J. Pierzynski and Lance Berkman each singled to load the bases before Mitch Moreland's grounder to second base was too slow for Robinson Cano to start a double play, allowing a run to score.
With runners on first and third, David Murphy then hit a grounder that shortstop Nix fielded deep behind second base. He made a strong throw for the third out.
NOTES: Chris Stewart threw two runners out trying to steal and Pierzynski one. ... Beltre made two errors. ... Washington said he will find playing time for INF Jurickson Profar in this series. Profar's playing time has been curtailed since Ian Kinsler returned from the disabled list on June 15.
