Rangers' Darvish, Angels' Nolasco duel for first win (Apr 13, 2017)
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- The Los Angeles Angels made an effort to be more aggressive on the basepaths during spring training, particularly when it came to stealing bases.
So far, however, it hasn't translated to the season. The Angels have only one stolen base through their first nine games -- it belongs to Andrelton Simmons.
They have attempted to steal only three times; the other two times the baserunners, Yunel Escobar and Danny Espinosa, were thrown out. Mike Trout, who stole 30 bases last year, hasn't even tried yet.
That all works out to be good news for Texas Rangers right-hander Yu Darvish, who will start the Thursday series finale against the Angels. The last 26 would-be base-stealers have been successful with Darvish on the mound, dating back to 2013.
Darvish prefers to focus on the hitter, and that's fine with Rangers manager Jeff Banister, as long as the baserunners don't wind up crossing the plate.
"How many of those have scored?" Banister told the Dallas Morning News. "With strikeout guys, they have a weapon to keep guys from scoring. You'd like to control the running game better, but he's not allowing them to score."
Well, some of them have. Of those 26 who stole successfully against Darvish, five eventually scored.
In his last start on Saturday, Darvish had a first in his career: He picked off a baserunner, getting Oakland's Rajai Davis straying too far off second base.
Darvish also is dealing with another first, this season marking the first time in his major league career he is winless through his first two starts. He is 0-1 with a 3.65 ERA.
He has been good against the Angels, however, going 7-2 with a 3.78 ERA in 13 starts. The seven wins are the most Darvish has had against any team.
Ricky Nolasco will start for the Angels. Like Darvish, he is looking for his first win. The Angels' Opening Day starter is 0-1 with a 3.86 ERA in his two starts, and he is 1-1 with a 3.75 ERA in two career starts against Texas.
Jonathan Lucroy (5-for-12) and Carlos Gomez (4-for-9) are the Rangers with the most success against Nolasco, whose contributions will be vital this year for the Angels if they are to compete for the American League West title.
Garrett Richards is on the disabled list, Tyler Skaggs has struggled in his two starts, Matt Shoemaker is returning from a fractured skull and Jesse Chavez has a history of fading as the season progresses.
That leaves the Angels depending on consistency from Nolasco, who showed he could be that pitcher when he averaged 12.8 wins per season from 2008 to 2013, mostly with the Miami Marlins. He joined the Angels last season in a trade from the Minnesota Twins.
Nolasco has another reason to stay healthy and put up innings this season: If he throws at least 202 1/3 innings, his $13 million salary for 2018 will be guaranteed. If he fails to pitch that many innings, the Angels have the option to pick up the contract or buy him out for $1 million.
"It's a big deal to me," Nolasco told the Los Angeles Times during spring training. "I know what's at stake -- something that, obviously, I want to get to, no matter what happens. When I first signed that contract with the Twins, I thought, 'Well, as long as I stay healthy, this is a five-year deal.' It's kind of been on my mind since Day 1."
