It started with ace pitcher Yu Darvish, whose pitch barely missed hitting the noggin of Jedd Gyorko. Then Rangers pitchers Cody Buckell and Coty Woods proceeded to bean three Padres.

The unfortunate hitters who got hit were Jesus Guzman, Yasmani Grandal and Jaff Decker.

Padres manager Bud Black was, of course, not pleased. Darvish blamed his near-miss on bad grip caused by dry weather, which can happen in the dry Arizona desert region where the game was played. Black thought they were just pitching lousy.

Still the Rangers came out on top, 5-4.

Darvish has been playing better than last season. Manager Ron Washington complimented Darvish on his “electric” fastball and his effective slider.

The range of pitches and ability of Darvish to get batters out continues to justify the high price that the Rangers paid for this star.