On Tuesday night Gordon Jackson and I had the opportunity to speak with Michael Young. He share with us about his visit the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Mo., five years ago and meeting the late Buck O'Neil. It was a special tour for Young as he learned about baseball history that most might not know about. "I had an absolute blast," Young said. "To get an opportunity to learn about the complete history of the game is something every baseball player should try and do. I had a great time going and hopefully I get a chance to go back." That experience gave Young a greater appreciation for being presented the museum's 2011 John Henry "Pop" Lloyd Award for baseball and community leadership. Manager Ron Washington also received an award from the museum, the 2011 Charles Isham "C.I." Taylor Award for American League manager of the year. Museum president Bob Kendrick presented the awards to Young and Washington before Tuesday's game against New York. Meanwhile Rangers Pitcher Yu Darvish is getting better each time out for the Texas Rangers. The Japanese standout may already be getting to a point when he will have a hard time topping himself, after striking out 10 and pitching into the ninth inning of a 2-0 victory over the New York Yankees on Tuesday night. "After my last start, I mentioned my command is starting to come together. Stuff-wise, there wasn't much difference," Darvish said through his interpreter. "I still like to think that there's still more in me." Ian Kinsler put the Rangers ahead to stay when he led off the first with a deep homer to left center off Hiroki Kuroda (1-3), who limited Texas to two runs and five hits over 6 2-3 innings. In only his fourth major league start, and the seventh-ever MLB matchup of Japanese starters, Darvish (3-0) worked out of some early jams and got through 8 1-3 scoreless innings even while allowing seven hits. Effective with his large array of pitches, including a fastball in the upper 90s and several biting breaking balls, the 25-year-old right-hander had a season-low two walks, and the 10 strikeouts were the most by a Texas pitcher this season. "He just keeps getting better every time he takes the ball. Tonight, he used everything he had, and he was effective, very effective. He's getting more and more comfortable," manager Ron Washington said. "He was pounding the strike zone. That's what you have to do against that team. He threw everything but the kitchen sink at them." Washington was going to give him a chance to finish the game but pulled Darvish after Nick Swisher's one-out single on his 119th pitch, his 82nd strike. Joe Nathan needed only one pitch to coax a game-ending double-play grounder by Raul Ibanez. It was his fifth save in six chances, closing out the Rangers' first shutout victory over the Yankees since Aug. 16, 2000.

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