NEW YORK (AP) Yankees manager Joe Girardi was hoping CC Sabathia would give one of those performances that has made him one of the most dependable pitchers in baseball - his bullpen really needed a break.

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(Reuters) - Yu Darvish continued to repay his big-money signing when he outdueled Hiroki Kuroda in an impressive showdown between Japanese pitchers as the Rangers beat the New York Yankees 2-0 in Texas on Tuesday. Darvish baffled his opponents with pinpoint control of an impressive array of pitches, from a lively fastball to a diving curve and deceptive change-up, continually changing speeds to keep the Yankees off-balance and improve to 3-0 on the season. "“It's a very nice outing, pitching against the Yankees and a performance like that," Darvish told reporters. ...

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The Texas Rangers finished their third round through the rotation with one significant change. Ron Washington switched Yu Darvish and Matt Harrison in the order to split up the left handed pitchers in the rotation. It did not really hurt either pitcher and the Rangers finished their third trip through the rotation with a 4-1 record.

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Vic Raschi, Allie "The Chief" Reynolds, and Eddie "Junkman" Lopat were all pitchers for the New York Yankees, playing together during an extra-special period in Yankees history, 1949-1953.

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Two pitchers the New York Yankees are very optimistic for, Dellin Betances and Manny Banuelos, are getting their collective clocks cleaned with the Triple A Scranton/Wilkes Barre club in the early going. Both possess earned run averages over 10.00 after starting two contests apiece, which certainly is not what Yankee fans like me expect to continue for such players with the high expectations attached to them.

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The 2012 fantasy baseball season is in full effect and after an early successful run for pitchers, the offense has come alive. Some closers have struggled (Jonathan Broxton), as have some starters (Tim Lincecum, Francisco Liriano), making the free agent wire that much more important. Who are the top five pitchers readily available in most Yahoo fantasy leagues that can help get your team of the rut it's in?

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Carlos Pena may have missed all the excitement of the 2011's Game 162, but he did a pretty good job of recreating its thrills upon his return to Tropicana Field on Friday. Back with the Rays after a one-year stint in Chicago, Pena served as the main offensive force during  a 7-6 comeback win over the Yankees on opening day. The first baseman's line was of the "not too shabby" variety: 3-for-5 with a grand slam and five RBI. Boy, talk about a good day. Not only did Pena come up with Tampa Bay's two biggest hits, they also came off New York's two best pitchers. He tagged starter CC Sabathia for a first-inning grand slam (just after Yanks manager Joe Girardi ordered an intentional walk to Sean Rodriguez — whoops) and then hit the gamewinner off Mariano Rivera in the bottom of the ninth (a single to left field that scored Ben Zobrist from third). While Pena struggled during spring training — he hit only .107 — his five RBI were enough to outscore 12 of the 14 teams that played an offensively-challenged slate on Thursday. Check out both of Pena's clutch hits below:

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After beginning spring training with six pitchers battling for five spots, and Andy Pettitte thrown in the mix, the New York Yankees 2012 starting rotation is now finally set. Manager Joe Girardi stated early on the only guaranteed members of the rotation were, ace C.C.

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Before he rehabilitates his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates, A.J. Burnett must rehabilitate his body after undergoing surgery to fix a fractured right orbital bone . Burnett, who fouled a pitch off his face during batting practice Wednesday — ESPN has video — will have surgery Friday in Pittsburgh. At least it's not a pitching injury. Right? This seems like a good time to bring up how pitchers batting is a bad idea and both leagues should use the designated hitter. The American League adopted the DH in 1973, freeing its pitchers to fully concentrate on, well, pitching (aside from World Series appearances, that is). The NL has been stubborn about it, obviously, and we don't seem to be on the verge of change there. As a result, their pitchers spend valuable time practicing their hitting when they could be doing more pitcher-ly pursuits. The same goes for AL pitchers come interleague play. No matter that it was a freak occurrence, if Burnett wasn't wasting time at the plate trying to bunt (bunting — there's another abomination!), he would be preparing for his first Grapefruit League appearance and not for surgery.

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It goes without saying that teams with "ace" pitchers at the top of their rotations are much more likely to contend for division titles and make serious noise in the playoffs. While some squads have a clear-cut No. 1 pitcher, other MLB teams lack a true ace to lead the...

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