The New York Yankees were able to stymie the Texas Rangers' potent lineup for the second night in a row Tuesday. Unfortunately, they couldn't kick start their own offense, as Yu Darvish dominated from the mound to give the Rangers a 2-0 win in the second game of the three-game series in Texas.
Darvish, the star Japanese pitcher the Rangers were able to sign during the offseason, was excellent in his fourth career start, giving up just seven hits in 8.1 scoreless innings. He picked up 10 strikeouts to two walks in the outing, earning a standing ovation from the Rangers' faithful as he was relieved by Joe Nathan after putting Nick Swisher on base in the ninth inning.
Derek Jeter went 2-for-4 from the plate to extend his hitting streak to 14 games. Jeter reached on an infield single in the third inning that loaded the bases with no outs. Curtis Granderson struck out looking on the next at-bat, however, then Alex Rodriguez grounded into a double play from third to first to end the Yankees' best scoring opportunity of the game.
Hiroki Kuroda started for the Yankees, giving up five hits and both of the team's earned runs in 6.2 innings of work. Ian Kinsler put the Rangers up 1-0 in the first with a solo-shot home run. Josh Hamilton capped the scoring with a single to right field to score Elvis Andrus in the third inning.
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