Major League Baseball

Darvish gives up 4 runs in 1st major league inning

Published Apr. 10, 2012 3:28 a.m. ET

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Yu Darvish pitched into the sixth inning of his much-anticipated major league debut for the Texas Rangers, retiring 10 batters in a row after a rough start and leaving with the lead.

Texas led 8-5 when Darvish came out of the game, which started with the right-hander allowing four runs and four hits with three walks in his first inning Monday night against Seattle.

After No. 9 batter Brendan Ryan was hit by a pitch with one out in the third, Darvish retired 10 in a row before walking Dustin Ackley with two outs in the sixth. He then gave up a single to Ichiro Suzuki before Alexi Ogando took over and got a strikeout.

Darvish struck out five and walked four while throwing 59 of his 110 pitches for strikes. He gave up eight hits.

When manager Ron Washington replaced him, Darvish got a loud ovation from the crowd that was also chanting ''Yuuuuuuu!'' Darvish walked off without acknowledging the cheers.

Darvish started the game by walking Seattle leadoff hitter Chone Figgins on four pitches. Before Figgins hit into a first inning-ending groundout, the Mariners already had a 4-0 lead. That included a four-pitch walk with the bases loaded to Munenori Kawasaki, an eight-time All-Star in Japan who was the only Mariner to previously face Darvish.

After Texas scored twice in the first off Hector Noesi, Seattle got another run off Darvish in the second for a 5-2 lead. Suzuki had a double and scored on a double by Kyle Seager, who also had a two-run single in the first.

Nelson Cruz hit a three-run homer in the third for Texas, and Mitch Moreland and Josh Hamilton homered the next inning for the 8-5 lead.

Two-time defending American League champion Texas in January committed more than $107 million, including Darvish's guaranteed $56 million, six-year contract, to acquire Japan's top pitcher. The 25-year-old Darvish was 93-38 with a 1.99 ERA in 167 games in Japan's Pacific League the past seven seasons.

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