Rangers ace Yu Darvish pushes for six-man rotation
Rangers pitcher Yu Darvish believes six-man rotations could reduce injury risk by relieving the stress on elbows, David Waldstein of The New York Times reported on Monday.
Dodgers' Yasiel Puig, Hanley Ramirez held out of lineup, X-rays negative
Darvish and the Rangers began a three-game set against the Yankees in New York on Monday. Before the game, the 27-year-old spoke to old friend Masahiro Tanaka, who is out with a torn ligament in his right elbow.
Darvish declined to discuss the nature of the conversation, but he did speak out for a six-man rotation at last week's All-Star game in Minneapolis.
“If you really want to protect players, we should add one more spot to the starting rotation,” Darvish said to Japanese reporters.
Darvish made 29 starts in 2012, 32 last season and has made 18 thus far this season. His most starts in seven seasons in Japan was 28 in 2011, but he pitched more than 200 innings four times. In Japan, starters pitch once a week.
He is 9-5 with a 2.88 ERA this season and is on pace for his second straight 200-inning season.
- Chris Mascaro
