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Darvish-Tanaka ends in draw after both pitchers toss gems

Andy Marlin / Reuters

Darvish-Tanaka didn't disappoint.

During their first meeting since arriving in the big leagues, Japanese counterparts Yu Darvish of the Texas Rangers and Masahiro Tanaka of the New York Yankees brought their A-games on Friday.

The two pitchers combined to strikeout 19 batters, while allowing just five hits with no runs scored in front of a dazzled Yankee Stadium audience, which was on hand to witness the rare showdown.

PITCHER IP H R ER BB SO
Yu Darvish 7 2 0 0 0 10
Masahiro Tanaka 8 3 0 0 2 9

Even Aaron Judge had no answer for some of the filth that was coming his way on the evening.

Unfortunately, neither of the pitchers were rewarded with a win despite their wonderful performances, as the game headed into extra innings before the Yankees walked off.

The duel between Darvish and Tanaka was similar to the last time the two squared off in Japan during 2011, although Darvish prevailed in that contest.

This was just the 15th time Japanese-born starters squared off against each other in the big leagues. The first occurrence took place May 7, 1999 when Hideki Irabu of the Yankees pitched opposite Mac Suzuki of the Seattle Mariners.

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