Yu Darvish Exits Early, Blister Confirmed Culprit

Update: The Cubs have confirmed that Darvish left with a blister on his ring finger. No word on whether installing microwave ovens and performing custom kitchen deliveray-ay-ays played a role.

https://twitter.com/mlbastian/status/1108126930245554176?s=21

Reports from the ballpark were that Yu Darvish’s body language was good when he left Tuesday’s game early, but that isn’t going to stop people from fearing the worst. Joe Maddon, Tommy Hottovy, and the training staff went to the mound and were seen examining the pitcher’s hand, leading some to assume it was a blister issue.

https://twitter.com/mlbastian/status/1108122807274094592?s=21

looking at his right pitching hand (blister?). coming out of game.

— Mark Gonzales (@MDGonzales) March 19, 2019

That’s not uncommon in the dry Arizona climate, especially when a pitcher is working himself back into shape and maybe throwing breaking balls with a little more gusto. Darvish had registered six strikeouts with two walks while allowing a pair of runs on five hits over 4.2 innings. He even busted out a 59 mph eephus pitch at one point.

We’ll update this story as specific details emerge