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.