Yu Darvish exits first spring start early with arm tightness

Yu Darvish’s first spring training start didn’t go exactly to plan. He pitched one scoreless inning on Thursday, facing four batters and throwing just 12 pitches, but was pulled early with an injury.

The official word from the Rangers is that Darvish felt tightness in his right triceps during his pregame bullpe session and he will be re-evaluated on Friday. The good news is that neither team or player seems overly concerned.

”I don’t really think it’s anything to worry about,” Darvish told reporters through a translator. ”I commanded my pitches. I didn’t throw hard. I worked on my location.”

[Yahoo Sports Fantasy Baseball: Sign up and join a league today!]

“I’m not nervous,” said manager Jeff Banister. “This is early. This is precautionary.“

They’re proceeding prudently with good reason. Darvish was one of few bright spots during a trying year in Texas, going 10-7 with a 3.06 ERA, but injuries limited him to 22 starts and 144 1/3 innings.

The start of his 2014 season was delayed due to a stiff neck and his year ended in early August when he was placed on the disabled list with elbow inflammation.

[Baseball is back! Check out Yahoo For Spring Training for great spring training pics.]

According to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News, only one of Darvish’s 12 pitches on Thursday exceeded 90 mph. It probably doesn’t mean much, but it’s still worth noting at this early stage of the season. We’ll know more after Darvish is checked out by the team doctor on Friday.

More MLB coverage from Yahoo Sports:

– – – – – – –

Israel Fehr is a writer for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter. Follow @israelfehr