Danks wants to be less wild but equally effective

ARLINGTON -- During John Danks' 2013 struggles, in which he posted a 4.75 ERA over 138 1/3 innings, the veteran southpaw still was able to consistently find the strike zone. He walked just 27, although the counter was Danks allowed 28 home runs.

Through three starts and 19 innings this season, Danks has yielded just one home run. He also has walked 10 while striking out 13.

"Walks always kind of chap me. It's not something you want to do," Danks said. "You can't defend a walk. You are just giving a guy a free pass. But I would trade a walk for a homer, obviously.

"With the walks, if I don't get them under control, they are going to lead to a big inning. That's just what they do. That's something we are working on, but I really don't have a reason for why. I definitely would like to get that fixed sooner rather than later."

Danks felt as if he was throwing strikes during his '13 effort, marking a comeback from season-ending arthroscopic shoulder surgery in August, '12. But he didn't have good command within the strike zone.

"Balls were coming back to the middle of the plate. I was getting them up," Danks said. "And in our ballpark, you can't do that. I know that probably better than anybody here. But I really expect not to walk anybody."