Darvish dominates as Riders roll over San Antonio

FRISCO, TEXAS (May 22, 2016) - Yu Darvish pitched six scoreless innings and struck out six batters for the Frisco RoughRiders, the Double-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers, in his fifth Major League rehabilitation start Sunday afternoon. Frisco defeated the San Antonio Missions 7-1 in front of a crowd of 10,379 at Dr Pepper Ballpark.  

Darvish (1-0) held the Missions (13-29) to just three scattered singles and issued one walk, while striking out six and allowing just one man into scoring position. He threw a season-high 87 pitches, with 56 in the strike zone.

The Riders (29-13) tallied seven runs in the first five innings to provide plenty of support for Darvish. Lewis Brinson got the scoring started with a solo home run to left field in the bottom of the first. It was the first leadoff homer of the season for Frisco and the fifth homer for Brinson this year.

Evan Van Hoosier added another tally in the tally in the first with a two-out double, driving in his third run in two games. Van Hoosier finished the game 2-for-3 and is 3-for-7 in his first two games with the RoughRiders.

San Antonio starter Luis Diaz (2-4) exited the game after giving up three more runs in the third. In just three innings pitched, the Riders tagged Diaz for five runs, four earned, on six hits. Frisco added another pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth against reliever Eric Yardley to cap the scoring outburst.

The lone San Antonio run came unearned off of Ryne Slack in the eighth inning, and the Missions went scoreless against David Perez in the ninth.

With the victory, Frisco improved to 10-1 against San Antonio this season. The Riders also increased their first-place lead to four games over Corpus Christi in the Texas League South division.

The series against the Missions wraps up Monday at 11:05 a.m. Luis Ortiz (0-0, -.-- ERA), the Rangers No. 5 prospect according to MLBPipeline.com, is scheduled to make his first start with the RoughRiders, and he will be working against righty Bryan Rodriguez (2-3, 3.20 ERA). Fans can watch the action live on Fox Sports Southwest and MiLB.TV, and live audio can be heard on the Frisco RoughRiders Radio Network, the TuneIn Radio App, and the MiLB First Pitch App.

Monday is Education Day at Dr Pepper Ballpark. Large groups of DFW-area school kids will be enjoying the Riders game on their field trip. It is also a Big Money Monday, where select fans in attendance will have the chance to win "Big Money" in various games and contest. One lucky fan will even have the chance to win a big money JACKPOT of up to $25,000 on a game situation or in a game of chance.

Tickets for Monday's game are available now online at RidersBaseball.com, via email at [email protected], over the phone at (972) 731-9200, or in-person at the RoughRiders box office.

About the RoughRiders

The Frisco RoughRiders are the Double-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers and play their games at beautiful Dr Pepper Ballpark in Frisco, Texas. The team was founded in 2003 and has finished first among all Double-A franchises in attendance in each of the last 11 seasons (2005-2015). In August 2014, the RoughRiders were purchased by an ownership group led by Chuck Greenberg and Scott Sonju. The new ownership group, together with the city of Frisco, has spearheaded numerous major franchise improvements over the past two seasons, investing over $7 million in wide array of facility upgrades and improvements, including the new state-of-the-art HD video board, sound system, Bull Moose Saloon, InTouch Grille, Riders Outpost Team Store, and the newest and biggest creation, the 174-foot Choctaw Lazy River. The improvements made prior to the 2015 season earned the Riders and the City of Frisco "Best Ballpark Renovation" of 2015 by Ballpark Digest. More than 130 former RoughRiders players have gone on to play Major League Baseball, including All-Stars Chris Davis, Elvis Andrus, Adrian Gonzalez, Ian Kinsler, Nelson Cruz, and C.J. Wilson as well as current Rangers stars Derek Holland, Rougned Odor, and Mitch Moreland. For more information on the Frisco RoughRiders and Dr Pepper Ballpark, please visit RidersBaseball.com or contact Nathan Barnett at (972) 334-1976 or via e-mail at [email protected].

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