Yu Darvish stuns Reds with history-making home run

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

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In his second plate appearance of the game, which was only the 14th of his MLB career, the 30-year-old hurler launched his first career home run.

That alone is pretty cool.

There’s also this tidbit.

The home run was no cheapie. Darvish went to straight away center field at Great American Ballpark. According to Statcast, the ball left Darvish’s bat at 107 mph and traveled an estimated 410 feet.

Here’s some interesting trivia too. Darvish’s blast marked the first home run hit by a Rangers pitcher since Bobby Witt on June 30, 1997, against the Dodgers. Witt’s home run was also the first by an American League pitcher during interleague play, which began that same season.

At the time of his homer, Darvish had also held the Reds hitless through four innings. By the end, it turned into one of those nights where Darvish’s command abandoned him though. In six innings, he allowed five runs (three earned) on only four hits, to go along with five walks and hit one batter. Darvish would end with a no-decision, but the Rangers did go on to win the game 6-5.

It was a bizarre outing to say the least, but a fruitful one as well as the Rangers inch closer to another postseason appearance.

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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at bigleaguestew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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