The Walk Off: Yu Darvish is back and appears to be in fine form
Welcome to The Walk Off, the nightly MLB recap from Big League Stew. Here we’ll look at the top performers of the night, show you a must-see highlight and rundown the scoreboard. First, we start with a game you need to know about.
The Texas Rangers rotation got a big boost on Saturday with the return of All-Star Yu Darvish.
Making his first start since Aug. 9, 2014, Darvish looked like he never missed a beat, let alone nearly 22 months after undergoing Tommy John surgery. In five innings of work, Darvish limited an impressive Pittsburgh Pirates offense to one run on three hits while striking out. That was good enough to earn the victory as the Rangers ultimately triumphed 5-2.
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Perhaps most encouraging to the Rangers is that Darvish’s fastball had some serious zip on it. He registered in the 90s all night long, even hitting 98 a few times in the first two innings. He mostly settled in between 94-96 and featured good command, walking just one in the game. Sometimes control is the last thing that comes back to a pitcher following Tommy John surgery, so perhaps that’s another encouraging sign.
Darvish was limited to 81 pitches as a precaution. He’ll slowly be built back up in the coming weeks, and may even get some extra rest along the way. Still, just the idea that Darvish is available combined with the Rangers playing like a contending team is exciting news for their fans. Even if he’s not his best this season, he’s likely to play a key role in their bid to make the postseason.
TOP PERFORMERS
Buster Posey: It’s not often the Giants need to score a bunch of runs in a Madison Bumgarner start. They needed to on Saturday at Coors Field, though only because their bullpen blew a late three run-lead. Not surprisingly, it was Buster Posey who provided the big blows. Posey smacked a three-run first-inning homer, then followed with a go-ahead three-run homer in the eighth as San Francisco ultimately cruised to a 10-5 win.
Cleveland Indians: Don’t look now, but the Indians own sole possession of first place in the AL Central. Cleveland leapfrogged the Chicago White Sox, who lost in Kansas City, by defeating the Orioles 11-4. It was death by singles, as 12 of Cleveland’s 13 hits went for one base. They also drew five walks, and pieced enough together to make Baltimore’s day a miserable one. The teams will have a rubber match on Sunday.
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Russell Martin: Toronto’s catcher may be finally heating up. After hitting a pair of home runs in Wednesday’s win againsthe Yankees, Martin collected three hits, including a homer, in Saturday’s 10-9 come-from-behind win against the Red Sox. Martin’s sixth-inning blast started the rally. He later added a run-scoring single in the eight, then a game-tying double in the ninth, before scoring the winner on Devon Travis’ infield single.
Kyle Hendricks: The overlooked man in the Cubs rotation, Hendricks continued his strong start by pitching a complete game in their 5-1 win against the Phillies. Hendricks limited the Phillies to five hits without walk, while striking out seven. It’s only his third win, but he has a rock-solid 2.93 ERA.
MUST-SEE HIGHLIGHT
Adam Duvall does it all. The Cincinnati Reds outfielder was making plays all over the place in Saturday’s 7-6 win against the Brewers. That included the spectacular diving catch you see above. He also delivered a game-tying three-run homer in the seventh, before knocking home the winning run with an RBI ground out in the ninth.
THE REST OF THE SCOREBOARD
Royals 8, White Sox 7: Kansas City turned a six-run ninth-inning deficit into a thrilling walkoff win. Now they hope for good news on Salvador Perez.
A’s 12, Tigers 3: The swinging A’s got home runs from Billy Butler, Danny Valencia and Khris Davis. For Davis, it was his 11th home run in May.
Braves 7, Marlins 2: The Braves have now won two straight home games, upping their record at Turner Field to 4-20.
Rays 9, Yankees 5: Six different Rays had at least two hits, including Evan Longoria, who homered and drove in four. Hank Conger had three hits and three RBIs, while Brad Miller doubled and tripled.
Dodgers 9, Mets 1: The rivarly continues with an ejection and two huge responses from Chase Utley.
Cardinals 9, Nationals 4: Washington hit three home runs against Adam Wainwright, including one from Bryce Harper, but it wasn’t enough.
Astros 4, Angels 2: Dallas Keuchel allowed first-inning homers to Mike Trout and Albert Pujols, but was otherwise solid in seven innings. Jason Castro provided the difference with a two-run homer.
Diamondbacks 8, Padres 7: San Diego scored three in the sixth and three more in the ninth to make it interesting, but Arizona held on to give Zack Greinke his sixth win.
Twins 6, Mariners 5: The Twins make it two straight in Seattle thanks to a ridiculous 2-4-5-6 game-ending double play.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813
