When the Los Angeles Dodgers acquired Yu Darvish seconds before the non-waiver trade deadline expired, it was with the sole purpose of improving their chances in the postseason. Darvish battled some inconsistency during the regular season but shined in his first two playoff starts.
Then came Game 3 of the World Series, and the right-hander fell flat on his face. Darvish was chased with two outs in the second inning, after allowing four runs on six hits. Four of the hits went for extra bases.
Los Angeles failed to dig themselves out of the early 4-0 deficit, and fell behind in the series. Disappointing as that was, Darvish was also the target of Yulieski Gurriel’s racial gesture that earned him a five-game suspension which begins in 2018.
In light of the rough game and night Darvish endured, his teammates gathered prior to Game 4 and delivered an uplifting message in support of the right-hander, which he shared on Instagram:
Alex Wood pitched a gem but one pitch to George Springer in the sixth inning resulted in a solo home run that snapped Wood’s no-hitter and gave the Astros a lead. But the Dodgers this time were able to overcome it, with Cody Bellinger and Joc Pederson in the thick of their turnaround.
The Dodgers began the practice of holding pregame huddles during a losing stretch in which they dropped 16 of 17 games. It was intended to keep the mood light and further exemplified the close bond in the clubhouse.
With the World Series set to reach at least a Game 6, it’s not beyond reason to believe Darvish may find himself with another opportunity to pitch against the Astros.
