There should not have been any chance for Texas Rangers starting pitcher Yu Darvish to face the Arizona Diamondbacks this season, unless the teams inexplicably met in the World Series.
But a chance rainout back in May in Arlington has caused the teams to play on Thursday — originally a scheduled off-day — has allowed for the opportunity. And Darvish wants some redemption after taking the loss in Arizona back on Memorial Day in the nightcap of a doubleheader despite putting up some pretty solid numbers.
That night, Darvish went 7 2/3 innings with 14 strikeouts and zero walks but gave up a late game-tying home run as the Diamondbacks went on to win and hand Darvish his first of four straight no-decisions in the middle of a winless streak for Darvish that lasted a month and a half.
Rookie shortstop Didi Gregorious was the thorn in Darvish's side that night, going 2-for-4 with that eighth-inning game-tying homer and a triple earlier in the game. He drove in three of the Diamondbacks' five runs in that game.
Since returning from a precautionary trip to the disabled list before the MLB All-Star Game, Darvish has gone 1-1 with a 0.73 ERA, with his loss coming to Cleveland over the weekend when he allowed a leadoff solo homer and nothing else. In that stretch, he's fanned 15 and walked six while struggling a bit with his pitch count, needing 123 pitches to get through six innings against Cleveland over the weekend.
