Rangers at Blue Jays
Ballyhooed rookie hurler Yu Darvish takes his act north of the border for the first time as Texas opens a three-game series in Toronto. The Rangers own the best road record in the major leagues, winning eight of their first nine away games. The Blue Jays, in the middle of a six-game homestand, had lost four in a row before busting out in the final two games of their weekend series with Seattle, outscoring the Mariners 14-2.
Texas, coming off its first series loss of the year against Tampa Bay, ranks at or near the top of the majors in nearly every offensive category thanks in part to a torrid start by LF Josh Hamilton (.395, 9 HR, 25 RBI), who left Sunday night’s game in the second inning with back stiffness and is listed as day-to-day. Toronto has been paced by DH Edwin Encarnacion, who is batting .310 with seven homers and 20 RBIs but is just 4-for-30 (.133) in his career against the Rangers’ current pitching staff.
TV: 7:07 p.m. ET, ESPN (national), RSN (Toronto)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Rangers RH Yu Darvish (3-0, ERA 2.42) vs. Blue Jays RH Kyle Drabek (2-1, ERA 2.25)
Since giving up five runs in a shaky debut, Darvish has lived up to the hype that accompanied him on arrival, holding his last three foes to three runs (two earned) in 20 2/3 innings. The rookie held a powerful New York lineup scoreless over 8 1/3 innings in his most recent trip to the mound, striking out a career-high 10 and walking two while scattering seven hits.
Drabek appears to be rounding into form in his second major league season, allowing two runs or fewer in each of his first four starts. The control problems that plagued him last year (55 BB, 51 K) are still popping up — the right-hander walked six at Kansas City on April 20 — but he has shown the ability to work around the extra baserunners.
WALK-OFFS
1. Drabek won his lone career start against the Rangers, yielding three runs and five hits in six innings last April 25. Texas C Yorvit Torrealba hit a solo home run in the loss.
2. Blue Jays 1B Jose Bautista, who has hit 100 home runs since the start of the 2010 season, is batting just .190, lowest among Toronto regulars.
3. The Rangers have been tough to beat at the beginning of the week, winning 14 of their last 17 Monday games.