SURPRISE, Ariz. — Yu Darvish didn’t make his scheduled start on Monday because of neck stiffness.
It’s not considered a serious injury and Darvish said he would have pitched through it in the regular season. Derek Lowe started in his place.“I felt a very mild strain in my neck and that caused stiffness,” Darvish said in a statement. “If this was a regular season game, I would start. However, since it is a spring training game, this is just precautionary on my part.”Darvish initially felt the stiffness during his workout Sunday. He has had a strong spring in his three starts to date, posting a 1.04 ERA over 8 2/3 innings.If the Rangers want to keep Darvish on his same schedule, he would start on Saturday. The Rangers play the Reds in Goodyear that day or Darvish could start a minor league game.Darvish missed a start on Sept. 25 last season against the Athletics with neck stiffness, and returned to the rotation five days later.Manager Ron Washington said the latest issue shouldn’t be viewed as a setback.“It’s just precautionary,” Washington said. “If he goes out there and something doesn’t agree with his movement, it could be worse. It’s spring training, so we decided to go ahead and back off.”Berkman plays firstLance Berkman made his spring debut at first base Monday night, but didn’t consider it significant.“Not to me, but maybe it is for some people who would be encouraged if I feel good enough to play the field,” Berkman said. “I’ve been in a couple rundowns the past few games. If I can survive those, surely I can play first base.”Manager Ron Washington doesn’t have a set number of games for Berkman to play first base this spring, but said he would be out there “some more.”The Rangers will use Berkman a handful of times at first base during the season. The Rangers play 10 interleague games on the road, and Washington has used the DH spot to give regulars a “half-day.”Washington reiterated that there are no plans for Berkman to play the outfield.Sticking aroundKyle McClellan met with Rangers officials and, as expected, intends to stay with the team. McClellan could opt out of his contract on Friday if he’s not on the major league roster, but doesn’t see any benefit to that.McClellan is sidelined for the next 3-4 weeks with a right lat strain, an injury he suffered when he over-extended on a pitch in the first inning of his two-inning outing last Tuesday against Milwaukee.“They gave me a chance when a lot of other teams wouldn’t,” McClellan said. “I’m looking forward to giving them a return on their investment.”Briefly• Colby Lewis threw another bullpen session and things continue to go well in his recovery from flexor tendon surgery. Lewis is expected to throw one more bullpen and then progress to live batting practices.• Derek Holland is scheduled to throw six innings and 90 pitches in his minor league start Tuesday.• Ron Washington on Evan Meek and Josh Lindblom throwing scoreless innings over the weekend: “Their lines looked pretty good. Very encouraging.”Drew Davison, 817-390-7760 Twitter: @drewdavison
