Texas Rangers pitcher Yu Darvish's neck soreness regressed quite a bit between Tuesday and Wednesday, meaning the hurler could return before his next scheduled start, according to Evan Grant of DallasNews.com.
Darvish was originally scheduled to make starts Tuesday and Sunday of this week, but he was scratched from the former with a stiff neck. While he appears to be on track to make his Sunday start, Rangers manager Ron Washington hasn't ruled out sending Darvish to the mound before that:
"It's just a consideration. We have to see how he is. Right now, he's on schedule for Sunday."
Having Darvish pitch before Sunday would allow the entire Rangers rotation to have an extra day of rest down the stretch, which would be key for a team that is trying to lock up a postseason berth. Texas's magic number to clinch the AL West sits at five entering Wednesday night's game, while its magic number to earn a postseason berth of any kind is three.