When the Los Angeles Dodgers acquired Yu Darvish at the non-waiver trade deadline, there was some question as to which pitcher they were receiving. The right-hander once was the ace of the Texas Rangers pitching staff, but had largely labored through this season.
Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and general manager Farhan Zaidi each voiced confidence in Darvish’s ability to pitch at an elite level. The initial return was encouraging: seven shutout innings with 10 strikeouts in a Dodgers debut.
Darvish has battled command issues and with inconsistency since that point, however. There was also a stint on the 10-day disabled list due to back tightness.
The matter was considered mild, and it allowed Darvish to work with Dodgers pitching coach Rick Honeycutt on refining his mechanics. Coming off seven scoreless and efficient innings against the San Francisco Giants, the 31-year-old wasn’t quite as effective facing the Philadelphia Phillies.
Following the start, Darvish said he’s pleased with where he’s at as the playoffs draw near, via MLB.com:
“I think I’m in a pretty good place,” Darvish said. “I think I’m where I need to be at this time of the season.”
While Darvish only went 5.1 innings, he limited the Phillies to just four hits and the lone run allowed unearned because of Darvish’s failure to receive a toss from Cody Bellinger while covering first base. The error was charged to Bellinger, perhaps due to his first bobbling the ball.
Darvish is 3-3 with a 3.80 ERA, 3.76 FIP and 1.29 WHIP in eight starts with the Dodgers. In 22 starts with the Rangers, he went 6-9 with a 4.01 ERA and 1.17 WHIP. Darvish reached 200 strikeouts in Tuesday’s outing for the third time in his career.
In a start against the Colorado Rockies on Sept. 8, he became the fastest pitcher to 1,000 career strikeouts. While Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has not made a formal announcement, Darvish is the presumed Game 2 starter in the National League Division Series.
