Darvish motivated for Yankees bats, plus first meeting vs. Tanaka

Yu Darvish starts the Texas Rangers series opener Friday against the Yankees in New York.

For Darvish, it’s not just another start. He’s facing fellow Japanese pitcher Masahiro Tanaka (5-7, 6.34 ERA) for the first time in the majors. They faced off four times in Japan. Darvish (6-5, 3.35) was 2-1 with a no-decision in those meetings.

Darvish tried to play down the meeting with Tanaka, especially considering the Yankees’ lineup, which has scored 394 runs and hit 114 homers, both third most in the majors entering Thursday’s games.

“The Yankees have a good lineup. It’s going to be an important game for both of us,” Darvish said. “It’s good if maybe we both pitch well and we win the game.”

Darvish is coming off a rough start on Sunday when Seattle tagged him for five runs on eight hits, including a four-run first inning

“The last outing it was my fault,” he said. “It’s simple. I didn’t do what I can do. I need to just stay focused on what I can do. Control what I can control.”

The last time he faced Tanaka was in 2011 at the Tokyo Dome. Darvish said he doesn’t remember much, except for Tanaka throwing a ball away on a pick-off attempt at first.

“I know he’s looking forward to it ... that’s great. But my focus is to the win the game tomorrow. I’m facing the Yankees hitters so my focus is on them.”

How about facing Aaron Judge, who leads the majors with 24 home runs?

“He’s a good hitter, but the whole lineup is good and they’re hot,” Darvish said.

This story was originally published June 22, 2017 at 3:28 PM with the headline "Darvish motivated for Yankees bats, plus first meeting vs. Tanaka."