Rangers activate Darvish from DL for return from Tommy John

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) -- Texas right-hander Yu Darvish has been activated from the disabled list to make his first major league start in nearly 22 months.

The Rangers reinstated Darvish before Saturday night's game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Third baseman/outfielder Joey Gallo was optioned to Triple-A Round Rock to make room on the active roster for Darvish, who last pitched in a major league game on Aug. 9, 2014, and had Tommy John surgery in March 2015.

Darvish made five rehab starts this month split between Triple-A Round Rock and Double-A Frisco. The Japanese pitcher struck out 21 in 20 innings while allowing only two earned runs.

In his first three seasons with the Rangers, Darvish was 39-25 with a 3.27 ERA in 83 starts from 2012-14.