Yu Darvish turned back the clock Friday night, and it helped the San Diego Padres get back into first place.
Darvish dominated the overwhelmed Los Angeles Dodgers by allowing just one hit and one walk in six innings in San Diego’s 2-1 win at Petco Park.
Darvish struck out five and walked only one, improving to 3-3 on the year. Relievers Jason Adam, Mason Miller and Robert Suarez allowed just two hits over the final three innings, with Suarez picking up his major-league-leading 34th save.
The Dodgers and Padres have identical 73-56 records.
What Did The Padres Say About Yu Darvish’s Outing?
The 39-year-old ace was thoroughly dominant, allowing just Alex Freeland’s third-inning home run while walking only one and hitting a batter. He threw just 74 pitches, 48 for strikes, while getting a mix of swings and misses and soft contact.
“Darvish was fantastic,” Padres manager Mike Shildt said. “He was just in control of everything he was doing. Wherever the glove was the ball was going, fastball had some real life to it.”
Darvish been battling injuries and inconsistency all season. He missed the first two-and-a-half months with elbow inflammation then started 0-3 with an ERA near 10 after his first four starts. Darvish has rebounded by posting a 3.43 ERA and 3.97 FIP and 23-4 strikeout-to-walk rate in his past five starts.
Yet, his last start was arguably his worst of the year, since he put the Padres behind the 8-ball by allowing four runs, on two home runs, in four innings in LA’s sweep-clinching 5-4 win Sunday that put it atop the NL West by two full games.
But the Padres ponied up for Darvish’s six-year, $108 million contract for nights like Friday. He outpitched the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell and fired up the rocking crowd of 44,864 that had created a playoff-like atmosphere in downtown San Diego.
“He was unbelievable,” Padres third baseman Manny Machado said. “Commanding all his pitches, pitching to contact, got the strikeout when he needed it. … I think he set the tone for us.”
What Did Yu Darvish Say About His Start Friday?
That Darvish has now faced the Dodgers in consecutive starts made this like a playoff series, and the veteran acknowledged he was anxious taking the hill after how his last start went.
“There’s some worry,” Darvish said through an interpreter. “Mentally, you fight that and you overcome that and you go out and execute.”
Darvish cited his command as the biggest factor for his better performance Friday. But he also credited catcher Freddie Fermin’s game calling with helping him stay efficient, and Darvish’s ability to pitch to his conviction.
“Obviously, the command, but I think sequence as well,” Darvish said. “[Sunday] there were sequences where I shouldn’t have thrown some of the pitches [I did], but today I put some thought into that and I think it worked out well.”
The Padres are going to need this Darvish to keep showing up on the mound. Their rotation is far less intimidating than it was when they went to the NLCS in 2022, proven by their 4.01 starters ERA, which is just 13th in the majors.
But Darvish has risen to the occasion in the playoffs in the past, and he admitted the pennant-race-style atmosphere got him going Friday.
“It does,” Darvish said. “This is what everybody wants, right? Towards the end of the season, San Diego against the Dodgers. It’s a great matchup. A lot of good energy out there.”
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