Darvish, Washington Credit Talented A's Lineup
ARLINGTON (CBSDFW.COM) -- Yu Darvish was far from perfect Tuesday night, surrendering a season-high five runs en route to a 6-2 loss to the AL West-leading Athletics.
But the Rangers' ace was unwilling to admit it. Instead, he was quick to credit the A's talented offensive lineup for the production.
"In my mind, there were no mistake pitches," said Darvish through a translator. "I have conviction when I throw my pitches, so they just hit really good pitches."
Despite striking out 10, Darvish fell to 1-4 in his career against the A's. In fact, Darvish has lost a total of four career games at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington – three of these have come against the A's.
"They're a very good team offensively. They are very hard to get out," said Darvish.
Manager Ron Washington echoed this sentiment following the game.
"I can say this: they fight for their at bats. They battle, and when they get pitches they like, they don't usually miss them. The two homeruns [Darvish] gave up, they were pitches out over the plate and they didn't miss them."
Ron Washington PostGame
Two pitches loom large in the loss. Brandon Moss led off the second inning, driving an 0-1 fastball to right for his 13th homerun of the season. John Jaso duplicated the feat to start the third, again driving an 0-1 fastball into the right field seats.
"I wasn't dissatisfied with those pitches," said Darvish. "Like I said before, they squared off on really good pitches."
Darvish yielded multiple homeruns in a game for the first time since May 16. He had not allowed a homerun in his previous three starts.
TEAM NOTES
- Darvish recorded his 14th career game with 10+ strikeouts, the third most in club history behind only Nolan Ryan (34) and Bobby Witt (24).
- Leadoff hitters were 3-for-6 against Darvish on Tuesday. They entered the game batting .109.
- Joseph Ortiz, who was recalled prior to the game, has now surrendered at least one run in five straight appearances.
- Texas has now gone 17 games without a starter recording a win, a club record. Derek Holland's win on 5/31 against the Royals was the last one.
- Mitch Moreland played in his second rehab game on Tuesday night at AA Frisco, going 3-for-4 with a run scored, 2 doubles and an RBI. He is scheduled to play again Wednesday for Frisco.
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