MLB Notes

Texas Rangers righthander Yu Darvish
Texas Rangers righthander Yu Darvish

RANGERS

Darvish to pitch Sunday

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Cubs 3rd Baseman Kris Bryant

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Texas Rangers right-hander Yu Darvish has a simple goal in his first rehab start on Sunday after last year's Tommy John surgery.

"To get the first guy out," Darvish said through an interpreter Friday before the Rangers' scheduled game against the Los Angeles Angels. "It's going to be my first outing, so that's all I'm focusing on."

The three-time All-Star, who led the American League in strikeouts in 2013, is scheduled to throw two innings or about 30 pitches for Class AA Frisco against Corpus Christi. He could return to the Rangers' rotation in late May.

Darvish pitched one inning of a spring training game on March 5, 2015, when he felt tightness in his right triceps and had surgery 12 days later. He most recently appeared for Texas on Aug. 9, 2014, after which he was shut down with right elbow inflammation.

Darvish said the final hurdle before progressing from bullpen sessions to rehab starts was mental.

"That I feel like, 'OK, I'm ready to go,' " he said.

CUBS

Bryant has ankle sprain

CHICAGO -- An MRI has confirmed that Kris Bryant of the Chicago Cubs has a minor right ankle sprain.

Bryant was injured running the bases in the third inning Thursday of Chicago's 7-2 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers. He was replaced in left field two innings later.

The Cubs avoided putting another starter on the disabled list. Catcher Miguel Montero was placed on the 15-day DL on Thursday with a sore back. Chicago lost slugger Kyle Schwarber for the season when he tore two knee ligaments three weeks ago in Arizona.

WHITE SOX-ORIOLES

'Fanless' game anniversary

BALTIMORE -- Adam Eaton won't ever think of the game fondly, but he also never will forget the "weird aura" at Camden Yards one year ago as players' voices rang out across an empty stadium.

A year ago Friday, the White Sox and Orioles played what is believed to be the only major league game closed to fans, a result of security concerns because of unrest in Baltimore after the death of Freddie Gray, who was injured in police custody.

The Sox are back in Baltimore for a four-game series this week, and it brings back unsettling memories for the players who participated in the 8-2 Orioles victory.

"There was a lot of weight on your heart because of what was going on in the city," Eaton said. "I guarantee everybody in this clubhouse at the time and over there was like, 'We have to play this game, but at the same time, there are bigger struggles going on, and baseball is not the biggest focus.' ... It was a very, very weird feeling."

The first two games of the series were postponed before the decision to play the third game in front of only media and limited staff.

Sox left-hander Carlos Rodon, who made his second career appearance in the game, said he remembers listening from the bullpen to Orioles outfielder Adam Jones call the game like an umpire and to the reactions from a crowd that peeked in beyond an outfield fence.

Eaton said it didn't feel like a real baseball game without the fans.

"There was just no energy," Eaton said. "For you or against you, you can play off that energy as an athlete. When you play so many games, you need it, to really do what you need to do."

ROYALS

Mannequin safe at home

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A 14-foot mannequin of a Royals player that was stolen from a billboard is safe at home in Kansas City.

The three-dimensional foam mannequin was found Friday morning in good condition in a previously searched weedy area near the scene of the theft just northeast of the city's downtown, said Bob Fessler, a general manager for Lamar Advertising.

"A guy on his way to work saw a hand sticking out of the grass and called authorities," said Fessler, adding that the thieves apparently "got nervous" and returned it as news of the theft circulated on social media and newscasts.

The mannequin, which weighs 150 pounds and is valued at $7,500, is part of an advertisement for grocery store chain Hy-Vee and depicts a center-fielder leaping against an image of the outfield wall at Kauffman Stadium, the Royals' home.

Sgt. John Payne of the Jackson County sheriff's office said no arrests have been made but a person of interest has been identified.

-- Democrat-Gazette Press Services

Sports on 04/30/2016

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