SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Yu Darvish's Minor League rehab start with Class A South Bend was cut short on Sunday after he completed just one inning and threw 19 pitches (10 strikes).
Initially expected to throw three innings, Darvish took the mound before the second, but he was removed after six warmup pitches. After the last one -- a curveball -- Darvish signaled toward the dugout that he needed to come out.
According to Darvish, the discomfort he experienced on Sunday was similar to what he felt after his last rehab start in late June, before he was diagnosed with a right elbow impingement and inflammation. The 32-year-old right-hander has been on the disabled list with right triceps tendinitis since May 23.
"During the warmup of the next inning, I felt something in there," Darvish said through an interpreter. "Last time, even though I did feel the same thing, I continued to throw. This time, I just stopped it here."
Darvish said he requested an MRI, though the details of when that will take place aren't certain.
The first two batters that Darvish faced reached on a first-pitch single and a four-pitch walk. He then settled in and ended his day with a called third strike on the low-outside corner. Darvish appeared to shake his arm as he walked off the mound following the strikeout, a 94.7-mph fastball, but he said he didn't feel any "abnormalities" at the time.
Asked if he was worried that this latest setback would end his rehab push for this season, Darvish said: "I can't really tell right now. It depends how I feel tomorrow."
After signing a six-year, $126 million contract in February, Darvish has made eight starts with the Cubs this season, posting a 1-3 record and 4.95 ERA while striking out 49 and walking 21 over 40 innings. He has not pitched for them since May 20 against the Reds in Cincinnati, where he went six innings and allowed one run on two hits while striking out seven.
Darvish threw a 55-pitch simulated game before the Cubs' game at Wrigley Field on Wednesday, and he, Cubs manager Joe Maddon and president of baseball operations Theo Epstein were encouraged by what they saw. Darvish told Maddon on Thursday that he was ready to begin his rehab assignment.
Now, the waiting game continues for Darvish and the Cubs.
"I really want to come back this season," Darvish said. "I'm going to work really hard and do my best to try to come back."