SEATTLE -- Yu Darvish will not make his scheduled start Monday after the Texas Rangers right-hander experienced neck and shoulder tightness Saturday.
Darvish left his previous start against the Houston Astros after five innings and 76 pitches with shoulder tightness. He threw a bullpen session Friday and felt fine, but another throwing session Saturday was cut short.
That start against the Astros was Darvish's third since returning from Tommy John surgery.
Darvish said he has "heard it's common for players that have had Tommy John surgery to have issues like this" and that he doesn't "want to push it and make it worse."
The Rangers will send Darvish back to Arlington, Texas, for an evaluation by team physician Dr. Keith Meister on Monday. A starter for Monday's game at Oakland has yet to be determined.
Manager Jeff Banister deflected questions when asked about Darvish's status following the Rangers' 2-1 comeback win over the Seattle Mariners on Saturday night.
"What we need to talk about is this ballgame, and what these guys did tonight was exceptional,'' said a perturbed Banister in response to repeated Darvish inquiries.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.