HOUSTON (AP) — Yu Darvish was one out from a perfect game when Marwin Gonzalez grounded a clean single through the pitcher's legs as the Texas Rangers beat the Houston Astros 7-0 in the American League on Tuesday.
The celebrated right-hander from Japan struck out a career-high 14 and was in complete control before Gonzalez smacked the first pitch up the middle. Darvish was unable to get his glove down in time and the ball skittered into center field well beyond a desperate dive by shortstop Elvis Andrus.
Darvish's 14 strikeouts matched a Minute Maid Park record and were the most by a Rangers pitcher since Hall of Famer and current team CEO Nolan Ryan had 14 in July 1991 against the Angels.
Michael Kirkman allowed a single to Jose Altuve before fanning pinch-hitter J.D. Martinez to end it.
Darvish has never thrown a complete game in the majors.
At Los Angeles, Madison Bumgarner allowed two hits over eight innings to give the San Francisco Giants a 3-0 win against the Dodgers in the National League while overshadowing the major league debut of high-priced Los Angeles pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu.
Bumgarner (1-0) struck out six and walked none at Dodger Stadium. The only hits were a pair of doubles by Andre Ethier and A.J. Ellis. Left-hander Clayton Kershaw homered and pitched a four-hit shutout in the Dodgers' 4-0 victory on opening day Monday.
Ryu's debut helped draw 45,431 fans to see the left-hander who signed a $36 million, six-year deal with the team in December, making him the first player to go directly from the Korea Baseball Organization to the U.S. major leagues.
Ryu (0-1) gave up three runs — one earned — and 10 hits in 6 1-3 innings.
In other NL games, Matt Holliday, Pete Kozma and Jon Jay homered as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-1, and Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez each homered for the second straight game to lead the Colorado Rockies over the Milwaukee Brewers 8-4.
In the AL, Adam Jones keyed a seventh-inning rally with a go-ahead, two-run double and Chris Davis followed with a three-run homer to help the Baltimore Orioles open the season with a 7-4 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays.
The Cleveland Indians downed the Toronto Blue Jays 4-1 as Asdrubal Cabrera hit a two-run homer off NL Cy Young pitching award winner R.A. Dickey, while Michael Morse hit a three-run homer and a solo shot in the Seattle Mariners' 7-1 victory over the Oakland Athletics.