The Cubs scored eight runs in the second inning of Sunday’s 13-4 win over the White Sox and because of the long frame Yu Darvish went to the bullpen to finish up his day of work. It was his second spring training start and a delight to see for the record-breaking crowd at Sloan Park in Mesa.
Darvish began Cactus League play hitting 96mph, but did struggle with his command, walking four early last week. On Sunday, Darvish once again lit up the radar gun, consistently touching the mid 90s and throwing as hard as 97mph. He struck out three batters in two innings and is feeling as confident as he ever has before.
Yu Darvish was quite encouraged by his sharp performance vs the White Sox today: “I’m the best right now in my career,” he said. Why? “Because I’m throwing 97, my slider was really good and my split was good, too. That’s the best stuff in my life.” pic.twitter.com/BLHJK8Oq19
— Tyler Kepner (@TylerKepner) March 3, 2019
It’s become pretty obvious that Darvish just wasn’t right from the start of 2018. He went into camp last season and was only throwing in the high 80s. Once the regular season arrived Darvish didn’t perform like his usual self and although there were some flashes of his greatness he was pretty bad in eight starts.
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As we later found out, Darvish had an elbow injury and had to get shut down after a couple failed comeback attempts.
Now, Darvish is feeling as healthy as ever and has the utmost confidence in his pitches. That’s not just a great feeling for him, but for the Cubs and fans too, who are waiting to see Darvish prove all the naysayers wrong.
So far, 2019 is going in the right direction.
