Yu Darvish’s MRI comes back ‘unremarkable’

Rangers fans may have feared the worst when pitching ace Yu Darvish was scratched from tonight’s start with neck stiffness. Fortunately for Darvish and his fans, an MRI on his neck brought back “unremarkable” results, according to T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com.

Darvish has been one of baseball’s hottest pitchers of late, sitting fourth in the American League with a 2.35 ERA. Earlier in the month, Darvish carried a no-hitter into the ninth inning against the Boston Red Sox before allowing a hit with two outs in the final frame. From that game on, however, Darvish has sported a very tidy 1.52 ERA, allowing just four runs in his last 23.2 innings of work.

For the Rangers, they appear to have avoided another significant injury. The Rangers lost star slugger Prince Fielder to season-ending neck surgery and, on the same day, received news that young starlet Jurickson Profar was dealt another rough blow when he re-strained his shoulder and would be shut down for eight to 12 weeks. The timetable for his return makes it questionable whether he’ll be available the rest of this season.

Darvish’s return is unknown, as his status will likely be further updated within the coming days. The Rangers currently sit third in the AL West, five games behind division leader Oakland and 2.5 games behind the second place Angels, meaning anymore significant injuries would significantly dampen their playoff chances, especially if it’s an extended absence for Darvish.