Rangers' Darvish, Yankees' Tanaka set for first U.S. meeting

NEW YORK -- Two nations will turn their eyes to Yankee Stadium on Friday night, when Japanese stars Masahiro Tanaka and Yu Darvish oppose each other on American soil for the first time as the New York Yankees host the Texas Rangers in the opener of a three-game series.

The matchup between the Yankees' Tanaka (5-7, 6.34 ERA) and the Rangers' Darvish (6-5, 3.35) marks the first time they have faced each other since they were in Japan's Pacific League in 2011, when Darvish outdueled Tanaka as the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters edged the Tohuku Rakuten Golden Eagles 3-1.

Darvish joined the Rangers the following season while Tanaka headed to the Yankees in 2014.

"I think it's something that hopefully Japanese baseball fans are looking forward to," Tanaka told reporters through an interpreter Thursday before the Yankees' 10-5 loss to the Los Angeles Angels at Yankee Stadium. "I just want to go out there and come up with a strong performance."

Darvish expressed a similarly narrow vision earlier Thursday, when he spoke to reporters before the host Rangers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 11-4.

"My focus is to win the game," Darvish said through an interpreter.

Tanaka and Darvish will be looking to bounce back from rough starts. Tanaka took the loss Saturday, when he gave up five runs over four innings as the Yankees fell to the Oakland Athletics 5-2. Darvish absorbed the defeat Sunday, when he allowed a season-high five runs over five innings as the Rangers dropped a 7-3 decision to the Seattle Mariners.

Darvish's sluggish start looks like a hiccup -- he tossed seven innings of one-hit ball in his previous start, when he earned the win in the Rangers' 6-1 victory over the Houston Astros.

But Tanaka is in the midst of an extended slump. He is 0-6 with an 8.91 ERA in his last seven starts, a stretch in which he has given up at least five runs five times.

The only positive lately for Tanaka? He has struck out 44 and walked only 10 over 33 1/3 innings in the last seven starts, which has manager Joe Girardi confident Tanaka's stuff is still sharp.

"It tells you it's in there," Girardi said. "To me, that's a good sign. It's in there. It's just being more consistent."

The Yankees and Rangers have been consistent lately, albeit in different ways. New York (39-31) has lost eight of nine to fall into a virtual tie for first place in the American League East with the Boston Red Sox. Texas (36-36) has won nine of 13 to climb within 1 1/2 games of the second AL wild card.

"The only feeling we know is that for the first time in the last week and a half, the team is together," Rangers outfielder Carlos Gomez told the team's website Thursday after hitting two homers in his sixth game back from the disabled list.

Gomez has five homers and 14 RBI since returning to action June 16 after missing a little more than a month due to a right hamstring injury.

Tanaka is 0-1 with a 7.50 ERA in two career starts against the Rangers. Darvish is 3-1 with a 2.01 ERA in five turns against the Yankees.