SURPRISE, Ariz. — Two fastballs that sailed all the way to the backstop Monday afternoon were an indication that Yu Darvish didn’t have his best stuff or best command in his second spring outing.
But he held another opponent scoreless and hitless, though he issued two walks to San Diego in three innings, and Jeff Baker capped a ninth-inning rally with a two-out game-winning single to lift the Texas Rangers to a 5-4 victory.David Murphy drove in two runs in the first with a two-out single that scored Adrian Beltre and Ian Kinsler. Beltre, playing for the first time this spring, went 1 for 3 with a double to start the game.Darvish and the Rangers led 2-0 when he exited after throwing 39 pitches, 23 of which were strikes.“I think the definition of a good pitcher is to get outs when you don’t have your good stuff,” said Darvish, who struck out three and hasn’t allowed a run or a hit in five innings this spring. “I was able to do that today.”Cody Buckel, who walked five and recorded only one out in his Cactus League debut, surrendered a 3-1 lead by allowing three runs in the seventh. He didn’t walk anyone, but he hit two Padres and allowed four hits.The Rangers’ record sits at 3-7-1, but manager Ron Washington has seen good things from the players who will be on the Opening Day roster.“The play has been better,” Washington said. “It takes awhile to get your timing down, and it takes some time to get those muscles in your body recognizing what they’re supposed to do. I’m not concerned about anything right now but our health.”Jeff Wilson, 817-390-7760 Twitter: @JeffWilson_FWST
