San Diego Padres right-hander Yu Darvish made his season debut on Monday against the Arizona Diamondbacks (GameTracker). Darvish, 38, had been sidelined by right elbow inflammation.
It was hardly a vintage Darvish outing, but it was something to build on for the decorated right-hander and a Padres team that sorely needs him. In 3 ⅔ innings, Darvish permitted two runs, both earned, on four hits with five strikeouts and three walks. Of his 63 pitches, 41 went for strikes.
Early on, he flashed a vintage breaking ball to strike out the first batter he faced in Corbin Carroll:
As is typically the case with a Darvish start, he threw just about every pitch in existence — eight different offerings, to be exact. He went to the curve a plurality of the time, but that came to just 22% of his total pitches. He earned 12 whiffs on five different pitches, including five on the sweeper. As for Darvish’s fastball, it touched 95.9 mph and averaged 95.1 mph on the night. That’s a full tick over what his four-seamer averaged last season, and it’s an encouraging sign moving forward.
Darvish had made just one appearance as part of a rehab assignment. He threw four innings for San Diego’s Triple-A affiliate, delivering 51 pitches and holding the opposition to two runs on two hits and a walk. He struck out four of the 14 batters he faced in that game.
“It really just comes down from a physical standpoint,” manager Mike Shildt said on Sunday. “We always have an open day on the schedule for Yu Darvish to start.”
Darvish, under contract through the 2028 campaign, was limited to just 40 combined starts over the last two seasons since finishing eighth in Cy Young Award balloting in 2022. He compiled a 4.09 ERA (102 ERA+) and a 3.37 strikeout-to-walk ratio over that span. Darvish is, of course, at the tail end of an accomplished international career. He’s made five All-Star teams and has cleared more than 33 Wins Above Replacement, according to the estimates housed at Baseball Reference.
Darvish was one of several notable Padres starters on the shelf. San Diego remains without Joe Musgrove (out for the season following Tommy John surgery), Michael King (shoulder inflammation), and Ryan Bergert (forearm contusion).
The Padres entered Monday with a 48-41 record on the season, tying them with the San Francisco Giants for the National League’s third and final wild-card spot.