The San Diego Padres have so many talented players that it's easy to forget about some of their All-Stars. Yu Darvish is one of those impact players and is getting better with each start after he returned from a prolonged absence due to injury and a personal matter.
He did not look sharp in his first MLB start in over three months but Darvish has pitched exceptionally well since and helped the Padres maintain their playoff positioning. In his latest outing Monday against the Houston Astros, Darvish struck out three batters across six scoreless innings. He only needed 79 pitches to get through the outing.
With it, Darvish extended an MLB-record streak that dates all the way to the five-time All-Stars MLB debut. Darvish recorded multiple strikeouts in all of his 280 MLB starts, the longest such streak by any player at any point in their career, per OptaSTATS.
Darvish is happy to be back with his teammates amid a pennant chase.
“I’m super happy,” said Darvish, through interpreter Shingo Horie. (Per MLB.com). “Our clubhouse, I think we’re really bonded together nicely, and we get to play in front of these fans. Obviously, the games are more exciting now. So it’s just super fun.”
Yu Darvish allowed five runs in his first three starts since the layoff. He won two of those starts. For the season, the 12-year veteran is 6-3 with a 3.21 ERA in 14 starts.
Padres pulling away in Wild Card standings
The Padres continue an incredible surge since the All-Star break as they go for the series win over the Astros on Wednesday. San Diego's next victory will be their 10th in the month of September. They're 9-5 and have gained 2 1/2 games in the Wild Card standings this month.
The Padres are 4 1/2 games clear of missing the postseason completely as they sit atop the NL Wild Card standings. San Diego has the best record in baseball in the second half and is storming into the playoffs even if they don’t catch the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West.
For what it's worth, that race isn’t over either. LA leads by 3 1/2 games with 11 games left, while San Diego has 10. The two teams won’t meet again in the regular season, but the Padres have a crucial series with the Arizona Diamondbacks to close the regular season.
That series could have serious playoff implications as the D-backs enter Wednesday tied with the New York Mets behind the Padres, while the Atlanta Braves are two games back of them. If the season ended today, the Padres and D-backs would meet in the playoffs. That could be the case immediately after the regular season finale in Arizona.
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