TOKYO -- Japanese pitcher Yu Darvish ended months of speculation Thursday by saying he intends to make a move to Major League Baseball. Jeff Backus . The 25-year-old right-hander, considered the best pitcher in the Japanese professional leagues, wrote on his blog that he had decided to use the posting system, which allows MLB teams to bid for the negotiating rights to Japanese players who have yet to become free agents. "I have decided to use the posting system," he said. "I wanted to tell my fans directly, so that is why I am posting this on my blog." Darvish, the son of an Iranian father and a Japanese mother, went 18-6 with a 1.44 earned-run average this season for the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters. He had 276 strikeouts to lead the Pacific League. The Fighters had given him approval to negotiate with a major league club through the posting system. Daisuke Matsuzaka and Ichiro Suzuki went to the major leagues under the system. "I owe a lot of thanks to my team," Darvish said, adding he would provide more details at an upcoming news conference. Darvish pitched in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and was a member of the Japanese national team that won the 2009 World Baseball Classic. The six-foot-five Darvish has superb control and throws seven effective pitches, including a two-seam fastball introduced during the 2010 season. Its expected he would make a top-of-the-rotation major league starter. "Darvish is the No. 1 pitcher in Japan, but we want him to become the ace of the world," Nippon Ham team representative Toshimasa Shimada said. Darvish turned pro in 2005 at 18. His pro career got off to a rocky start when he was caught smoking in a pachinko parlour on an off day during his first spring training, despite not being old enough to legally smoke nor to gamble at the time. After going 5-5 with a 3.53 ERA in his rookie season with the Fighters, Darvish had a breakout year in 2006, going 12-5 with a 2.89 ERA and 115 strikeouts. In 2007, Darvish won the Eiji Sawamura Award presented to the top pitcher in Japanese professional baseball after posting a 15-5 record with a 1.82 ERA and a league-leading 210 strikeouts. Darvish was posted Thursday, MLB clubs can submit sealed bids through next Wednesday for the right to negotiate with Darvish. If the Fighters accept the highest bid, the MLB club that placed that bid will have 30 days to finalize a contract with the player. If no deal is reached, Darvish returns to the Fighters for another season. In 2006, former Seibu Lions pitcher Matsuzaka drew a $51.1 million posting fee from the Boston Red Sox, who signed him to a six-year, $52 million contract, taking the total package to more than $100 million. The New York Yankees, one of several teams said to be interested in Darvish, won the negotiating rights to shortstop Hiroyuki Nakajima of the Lions on Wednesday. The posting fee for the 29-year-old was $2.5 million. Kevin Ogletree . It appeared that Roussel had completed a hat trick 2:37 into the third period during a power play, but his shot from the right circle was redirected into the net by Colton Sceviour. Roussel, who netted seven goals last season as a rookie with the Stars, scored less than five minutes into the game when he deflected in Trevor Daleys shot. C.J. Mosley . -- Kris Blanks birdied his final five holes Thursday to move past Canadian rookie Matt McQuillan and finish with an 8-under-par 63 and grab the first-round lead at the John Deere Classic. ST. LOUIS -- Mark Ellis knew that he might not see a whole lot of playing time when he signed a free-agent contract with the St. Louis Cardinals in December. "I figured theyd want me to come off the bench and Im fine doing that," he said. "I just want to be on a winning team." Ellis has gotten the best of both worlds. The 37-year-old infielder drove in two runs, including the go-ahead score with a bunt, and the Cardinals got a scoreless effort from their bullpen to beat the Philadelphia Phillies 5-3 Sunday. The Cardinals have won two in a row and seven of 10. Philadelphia has lost two straight after a season-high five-game winning streak. Ellis, who has received increased playing time due to injuries, broke a 3-all tie with a safely squeeze bunt in the fourth. He added an RBI single in the sixth. He is hitting .193 with 12 RBIs in 41 games. "We talked about it and the opportunity came up," he said of the bunt. "The ball up is an easier pitch to get that ball down. We were able to execute it." St. Louis manager Mike Matheny appreciates Ellis professional approach at the plate. "Two big at-bats," Matheny said. "Mark did a real nice job of getting that bunt down. He was thinking and really preparing ahead of time. Hes done a lot of good things in this game for a long time." Starter Carlos Martinez (1-3) allowed three runs over five innings. Martinez, who has 31 relief appearances, was making his second start of the season, replacing Michael Wacha in the rotation. "I just focused on throwing strikes, not throwing the ball so hard," Martinez said. "As a starter, Im learning to use all of my pitches." Nick Greenwood, Sam Freeman, Pat Neshek and Trevor Rosenthal combined for four innings of two-hit scoreless relief. Rosenthal got his 22nd save in 25 chances. Freeman struck out three in 1 2-3 innings. "I thought the pen was terrific, too," Matheny said. "Those guys are doing a good job getting through the game when our starters may not be able to go too deep." Cody Asche drove in all three Philadelphia runs with a bases-loaded doubble in the second. Riley Reiff. Asche, who grew up in nearby OFallon, was playing his first series in front of family and friends. "Its fun to step in and contribute," Asche said. "I wish we could have taken the last two games and completed the perfect road trip. But weve got some confidence." The Phillies won the first five games of the seven-game swing. Jimmy Rollins had a 15-game hitting streak snapped. Kyle Kendrick (3-7) allowed five runs and eight hits in six innings. He gave up just one hit over the first three innings before St. Louis scored four times in the fourth. "That one big inning hurt," Kendrick said. "They got some hits and I wasnt able to minimize the damage." Jon Jay got the inning going with an RBI single with the bases loaded. Jhonny Peralta followed with a tying, two-run single and Ellis bunted home the go-ahead run. "I like the way they went about putting together some tough at-bats," Matheny said. "Just nice consistent approaches at the plate, not trying to do too much." NOTES: The Phillies announced after the game that RHP Ethan Martin (0-0, 4.50) has been sent to Triple-A Lehigh Valley of the International League. RHP B.J. Rosenberg will be recalled. Rosenberg is 2-1 with a 2.63 ERA. Manager Ryne Sandberg said Martin just "needs to get some innings in."... Matheny had the No. 57 written on his left arm to honour former St. Louis pitcher Darryl Kile, who died 12 years ago Sunday. ... The Phillies begin an eight-game homestand Monday with the first of four games against Miami. Roberto Hernandez (3-5, 4.52) will face Nathan Eovaldi (4-3, 3.76) in the opener. ... St. Louis starts a 10-game road trip Monday with the first of three games in Colorado. Lance Lynn (7-5, 3.15) will take on Jhoulys Chacin (2-2, 4.65). ... The previous three St. Louis games prior to Sunday lasted exactly 2 hours and 48 minutes. This one took 2:54. ... St. Louis OF Matt Holliday hit in the No. 2 spot in the batting order for the first time this season. The Cardinals have used 11 different players in that slot this season. ' ' '
