Yu's Next Start Pushed To Friday

It was announced this weekend that Yu Darvish’s next start would be pushed back to this weekend, but the Rangers’ maintain that the decision wasn’t influenced by Darvish’s rough outing against Oakland last week, or his recent struggles in general.

Darvish has lost three of his last four starts, dropping his season record to 7-4. Last Thursday against Oakland, Darvish went 5 1/3 innings, giving up six earned runs on six hits and six walks. That outing alone inflated Darvish’s ERA by more than half a run, from 3.21 to 3.72.

The Rangers’ prized offseason acquisition would have started in Tuesday’s series opener with the Diamondbacks in Arlington, but seeing the need for a little rest, manager Ron Washington will hold off on using Yu again until Friday--the series opener against Houston.

"The first thing he said is, ‘I'm not physically tired, but I'm going to take this opportunity and use it to my advantage,'" Washington said, per the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. "It's got nothing to do with the way he's been pitching. We've got to take care of him just like we've got to take care of everyone else."