Rangers’ Yu Darvish Hits First Career Homer In 6-5 Road Win Over Reds

In one of the most incredible moments this season, Yu Darvish did something Wednesday night that no other Japanese-born pitcher had ever done while wearing the uniform of an American League team.

Rangers’ Yu Darvish Hits First Career Homer In 6-5 Road Win Over Reds

The Rangers right-hander smacked his very first career home run in the fifth inning of his team’s game against the Cincinnati Reds to help lead Texas to a 6-5 victory over the Reds at Great American Ball Park. It was only Darvish’s second plate appearance of the game, and only the 14th of the 30-year-old’s MLB career. The exit velocity of Darvish’s big homer was 107 mph, according to Statcast™, and the estimated distance was 410 feet.

Darvish’s blast marked the first homer hit by a Rangers pitcher since since Bobby Witt on June 30, 1997, against the Dodgers. Texas third baseman Adrian Beltre also had a big night, having recorded his 2,900th Major League hit.

“That was a great one to win,” Rangers manager Jeff Banister said. “We needed a feel-good win going home. I’m not saying it was the greatest played game, but an incredible effort by all our guys.”

The Rangers snapped a three-game losing streak and now hold a 6 1/2 game lead in the American League West with 35 games to play. With the loss, the Reds finished 6-4 on their 10-game home-stand.

Ian Desmond began the rally for the Rangers when he was struck by a pitch from right-handed reliever Blake Wood, and he stole second. Carlos Beltran flied out to center, but Beltre snapped an 0-for-10 skid with a double to right-center.

Despite his big, historic hit, Darvish struggled during his six innings of pitching. He allowed five runs and was unable to hold leads of 3-0 or 5-2. The Japanese pitcher left with the game tied at 5 after six innings, having walked five batters.

Reds starter Tim Adleman didn’t walk anybody, but gave up three home runs — to Nomar Mazara, as well as Darvish and Desmond, who went back-to-back in the fifth inning. Overall, Adleman gave up five runs (four earned) with five hits over five innings.

“It’s a couple of runs I could have kept off the board,” Adleman said. “If I do, we probably win the game 5-4 or 5-3. It’s frustrating to know that you put your team in a tough spot. If you just make a couple of more pitches, maybe the results are completely different.”

Down two in the sixth, the Reds’ Scott Schebler grounded a one-out pitch to Rougned Odor, who was playing in shallow right field on the shift. Schebler ran hard out of the box and beat Odor’s throw by a step. He would score on a Ramon Cabrera ground-rule double, which was part of a two-run rally that tied the game.

Mazara hit a three-run homer in the second after the Reds failed to turn a double play. With Odor on first, Jonathan Lucroy hit a hard grounder that first baseman Joey Votto caught on his knees going to his right. Votto attempted to throw to second, but his toss fell way off the mark, thus allowing Odor to slide in safely. Lucroy also reached safely. Mazara followed with a homer, his 15th of the season.

“It’s a defensive mistake,” Reds manager Bryan Price said of Votto’s error. “It’s not his first, it won’t be his last. If he plays long enough, everyone’s going to have those moments where you make a mistake. And it happens and it happens frequently, unfortunately, in this game.”

“It was good to see Mazara’s power show up tonight,” Banister said. “This ballpark, you’re going to give up some home runs.”

The Rangers (74-53, 1st in AL West) next return to Arlington to open a four-game series against the Indians on Thursday night. Left-hander Cole Hamels will be looking for his first career victory against the Indians.

The Reds (54-72, 5th in NL Central) have an off-day on Thursday before beginning a three-game road series against the Diamondbacks on Friday. Lefty Brandon Finnegan takes the mound, coming off a seven-inning shutout performance against the Dodgers in which he took a no-hitter into the seventh inning.

CINCINNATI, OH – AUGUST 24: Yu Darvish #11 of the Texas Rangers grounds into a double play in the second inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on August 24, 2016 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)