Chicago Cubs: Yu Darvish lacks fastball control in return to the mound

Chicago Cubs: Maddon forced to his pen early in the loss

After DeShields drew a walk, Darvish bounced back to strike out Shin-Soo Choo for the second out of the inning. But on a night when the Cubs hurler lacked any sort of consistency or control with his fastball, Rougned Odor sat on a breaking ball and ripped a single into right field, driving in the Rangers’ first tally of the night.

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Darvish worked out of the jam to end the second, but the third brought more of the same. He walked Mazara to open the inning, then retired Gallo on a fielder’s choice ground ball to the right side.

With a runner on and one away, Cabrera launched a fastball that caught too much of the plate deep into the right-field seats, pulling Texas within one at 4-3. After retiring one final batter, manager Joe Maddon made his slow walk to the mound, ending what was supposed to be a triumphant return to the mound for Yu Darvish.

That third inning is where things really went sideways for the Cubs’ $126 million man. His fastball velocity, on average, barely cracked 90 MPH. That really stands out given the fact Darvish was pumping heat in the mid-to-upper 90s all spring in Arizona. That, coupled with spotty control, was a recipe for disaster.

"“The stuff from down there is really good, it’s just about where it’s going,” Maddon said. “Great stuff, velocity was good, breaking ball was good, everything was good. We just have to be in the strike zone a little more consistently. Because that kind of stuff is definitely going to play, post-fifth inning, sixth- or seventh-inning stuff. He just has to get in the zone. We’ll get him there.”"