Darvish to make next turn after scratched start
Neck stiffness subsides to allow right-hander to be reinserted into normal slot
MINNEAPOLIS -- The Rangers have announced that Yu Darvish will pitch on Sunday against the Nationals after being scratched from Tuesday's start against the Twins with neck stiffness.
Darvish had a clean MRI on Tuesday that showed no issues. He reported significant improvement on Tuesday evening and enough on Wednesday that he was able to go through a workout in the weight room.
Rangers manager Ron Washington said there was no discussions about Darvish being reinserted into the rotation earlier than his normal spot on Sunday.
"He just missed his start, that's all," Washington said. "We wanted to make sure he is 100 percent between now and Sunday. We'll make it happen.
"Yu Darvish is a different animal. He just doesn't want to have any reason why he doesn't feel well. So if he doesn't feel right ... we'd much rather know he's OK. We don't want him worrying about it. So we'll hold him back until Sunday."
Darvish, who started the season on the disabled list with stiffness in his neck, is 4-2 with a 2.35 ERA in nine starts. He is seventh in the league with 71 strikeouts but first with 10.4 strikeouts per nine innings.
Scott Baker took Darvish's spot on Tuesday and pitched well, holding the Twins to two runs in six innings. He'll return to the bullpen as the long reliever but probably won't be ready until Saturday after throwing 80 pitches in Tuesday's start.