Rangers starting pitcher Yu Darvish threw nearly two scoreless innings in his first Spring Training start Sunday.
Darvish gave up a bunt single and two walks, striking out two on 37 pitches in 1⅔ innings in a 6-4 win over the Kansas City Royals in Surprise.
“For me, it’s a good first day,” manager Jeff Banister told The Dallas Morning News.
The 30-year-old righty returned from Tommy John Surgery in 2016 to pitch 100⅓ innings, striking out 132 against 81 hits and 31 walks. His 11.8 strikeouts per 9 innings last year would have been best among starting pitchers if he had enough innings to qualify.
The Rangers hope Darvish returns to form in his first full season back from injury. In his last full season, he led the league in strikeouts and hits per nine innings and finished second in the AL Cy Young voting.
