Darvish's Session a Ray of Sunshine on Rainy Day

Call it a rainbow in an otherwise washed-out day in Arlington.

While the Rangers and Orioles were rained out Sunday, Texas got more good news in the comeback of pitching ace Yu Darvish. He threw 50 pitches to hitters in the underground batting cage and dazzled pitching coach Doug Brocail.

“It was really good,” Brocail told reporters after the session. “Breaking ball was crisp. Slider was unbelievable. The fastball was good and hard with both two- and four-seamers. He threw strikes in a lot of good areas. As we measured it, there were a lot of 0-2 and 1-2 counts.”

“Hitters” weren’t allowed to swing because of the confined area across from the clubhouse and behind the team’s dugout. But the session was clearly another positive step toward Darvish returning to the rotation as soon as May 11. He will throw a similar session Thursday on the field, with hitters swinging away.

If all goes well, he’ll make a rehab start in Frisco on April 26. So far, so good.

A native Texan who was born in Duncanville and graduated from UT-Arlington, Richie Whitt has been a mainstay in the Metroplex media since 1986. He’s held prominent roles on all media platforms including newspaper (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Dallas Observer), radio (105.3 The Fan) and TV (co-host on TXA 21 and numerous guest appearances, including NBC 5). He lives in McKinney with his wife, Sybil, and two very spoiled dogs.

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