SAN FRANCISCO — Texas right-hander Yu Darvish, who struggled in his start Thursday against Oakland, will be given extra rest before making his next start.
His next outing will come against Houston June 15 at Rangers Ballpark, giving him seven off days between starts.
"He's fine," Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "He had a bad time there (vs. Oakland). A couple days extra won't hurt. It might do him some good. Physically he's fine. He just had trouble with his mechanics the other day. He couldn't make the adjustments. He usually does."
Darvish allowed six runs in six innings against Oakland and also walked six batters for the second time this season. Washington said Darvish will have two extra bullpen sessions with the off time but would not be available out of the bullpen.
"His reaction was he doesn't need it but he's going to take this opportunity to make sure that when he does get back on the mound he's ready to go," Washington said. "That's just a natural reaction for an athlete."
The Rangers gave Derek Holland, Matt Harrison and Neftali Feliz extra days off earlier this season. Both Holland and Feliz pitched in relief during that time but Washington doesn't want to use Darvish that day because he doesn't have any relief experience.
The Rangers have an off day Monday. Colby Lewis will start Tuesday against Arizona with Harrison and Scott Feldman also pitching in that series. Alexi Ogando will start June 16 against the Astros.
Another benefit of putting Darvish in between Ogando and Feldman is that it breaks up the two pitchers who aren't completely stretched out and could save the bullpen extra work.
