Yu Darvish will skip his scheduled start against the Oakland Athletics on Monday due to tightness in his neck and right shoulder and undergo a thorough checkup in Arlington, the Texas Rangers announced Saturday.
Darvish on Wednesday made his third start in his comeback from Tommy John elbow surgery in March 2015, but came off the mound after five innings with shoulder tightness in the Rangers' 3-1 defeat to the Houston Astros.
Texas had said it expected Darvish to make his fourth start after throwing 21 pitches in a light bullpen session, but the right-hander felt discomfort while playing catch on Saturday.
He threw a few pitches in the bullpen in front of pitching coach Doug Brocail before the Rangers made their decision to send Darvish back to Texas.
"I have heard it's common for players that have had Tommy John surgery to have issues like this. Right now I don't want to push it and make it worse," Darvish said on the team's website.
"It's a precaution, we hope it's nothing serious and that I can be back soon."
Darvish made his return on May 28 and won his first two starts for a 2-0 record. He has a 2.87 ERA.