2022 MLB Playoffs: Yu Darvish, Padres put it all together to take Game 1

By Jake Mintz

FOX Sports MLB Writer

Years from now, we’ll all keepinmind how helpless Max Scherzer looked.

Nothing might perhaps clean that image from our cumulative memory: the most frightening pitcher of a generation, a proven Hall of Famer, slugging off the mound underneath a hailstorm of boos after permitting 7 runs in a dumpster fire of a efficiency. In front of a sold-out Citi Field crowd, with the energy high and the expectations greater, Scherzer fallenapart versus the Padres in the Mets’ 7-1 loss in Game 1 of the 2022 Wild-Card Series.

But Mad Max’s sad-sack night stung even more in contrast to the skillful pitching efficiency reverse him. Yu Darvish, one of the sport’s most tantalizingly talented hurlers, revealed up and provided when Scherzer didn’t. Despite doingnothave his filthiest swing-and-miss things, Darvish declined to let the Mets back into the ball videogame. After a rocky veryfirst inning that teetered on the edge, Darvish offered the Mets and their fans no factor for hope.

The 36-year-old right-hander hucked 7 outstanding frames Friday, permitting a single made run on 6 strikes and absolutelyno strolls. His ravaging four-seam/cutter/slider triad baffled players all videogame, generating lots of weak contact from a plainly uneasy Mets lineup. What’s more, by pitching through the seventh inning, Darvish — with a huge help from the Padres’ 4 homers — permitted skipper Bob Melvin to keep his finest reducers fresh for Saturday’s Game 2.

And now, thanks in big part to Darvish and the veryfirst 100-pitch postseason efficiency of his excellent profession, the Padres are one win away from an NLDS face-off with the Dodgers.

When it comes down to it, the postseason is about dingers. Trying to string strikes together versus a group’s finest handful of pitchers is a hard job. The finest technique, more typically than not, is to draw a walk or 2 and then objective for the horizon. Clubs that can belt it over the fence when the weathercondition gets cold win more videogames than they lose. (The 2015 Royals are an exception that shows the guideline.)

On Friday, with the exception of Eduardo Escobar’s solo shot, Darvish kept the baseball in the backyard. Scherzer did not. That mostlikely has a lot to do with the 7-year-old Mets fan I saw on the concourse punching a cement wall in disgust.

Even though Darvish danced one action ahead of New York’s bats, his efficiency was more workmanlike than dominant. The 4 strikeouts were the least he has tallied in a start giventhat June 1. Scherzer — early journey to the showers and all — created just one less swing-and-miss in 4⅔ than Darvish did in 7 innings. 

But being in control is far more essential than being nasty. And Darvish neverever split, neverever offered up that back-breaking base knock. His most essential pitch of the night came early, versus Pete Alonso in the bottom of the veryfirst inning with one out and Mets on the corners. 

Alonso’s league-leading 131 RBIs this season broke a Mets franchise record. Whenever ducks haveactually been on the pond this season, Alonso has usually brought them house. 

But Darvish went right after the terrifying slugger, tough him with a first-pitch sinker in the zone. Alonso got his barrel on it and smoked the ball 400 feet down the left-field line however method nasty. Moments lateron, with the count 0-2, Darvish froze Alonso with a picture-perfect cutter at the knees.

The next player, Daniel Vogelbach, flew out to right to end the danger. The Citi Field crowd returned butts to seats, neverever to increase onceagain.

The night was a shimmering emphasize in what hasactually been a unusual big-league journey for Darvish, who made the extremely preparedfor trans-Pacific leap ahead of the 2012 season. That winterseason, the Rangers paid a overall of $110 million to safe his services, and for the veryfirst 3 seasons, he provided. He made 3 All-Star Games in 3 years, completed 2nd in the Cy Young and led baseball in K/9 from 2012 through ‘14.

But then his elbow ligament stated “see ya,” and giventhat then, it hasactually been a whirlwind. Darvish blew out in spring of 2015, got Tommy John, came back a somewhat minimized variation of himself in ‘16 and got dealt at the 2017 duedate to the Dodgers, with whom he pitched well till the World Series, where he was knocked around by the ultimate champ Astros, who were possibly, mostlikely unfaithful.

After that, Darvish signed with the Cubs in complimentary company and then was disappointingly average for 2 seasons priorto restoring his type throughout the COVID-shortened season to surface 2nd in the Cy Young, at which point the cost-cutting Cubbies dealt him to San Diego. He was insanely great pre-All-Star break in 2021, putting himself in the Cy Young conversation with a sub-3.0 ERA, however then, like the Padres, he imploded down the stretch.

The point is Darvish’s profession has changed inbetween fits of radiance and bouts of mediocrity, insomecases even within the exactsame start. Through it all, the things has constantly enticed, his kitchenarea sink of offerings the ideal fodder for Pitching Ninja GIFs. But it likewise appeared at times, especially throughout the start of his Cubs period and the back half of last season, that Darvish was chasing a ghost of himself.

This season hasactually been a various story. Since a dreadful getaway versus the Giants in his 2nd start of the year, in which he offered up 9 runs and gathered simply 5 outs on a badly windy and cold night in San Francisco, Darvish has published the sixth-lowest ERA in the National League. His last month was especially great, as he enabled just 8 runs throughout 6 begins.

That hot stretch to end the year mostlikely raised Darvish above his peers in a Padres rotation of workedwith weapons and made him the duty of a Game 1 start. On that phase, he shined, earning his veryfirst postseason win consideringthat the 2017 NLCS. Baseball has altered rather a bit giventhat then, and so has Darvish. He has transformed himself as a pitcher many times over the years, however he declares he lastly feels comfy and protected, thanks to a muchbetter pregame regular that consistsof mediation.

Darvish still has some satanicforces on which to practicemeditation — when asked about his 2017 World Series hasahardtime versus Houston, he decreased to remark — however he’ll get sufficient chance to dominate the previous, oughtto San Diego advance past the Mets.

Now closer to 40 than 30, he may be running out of time to capture a ring, however on Friday, he took a purposeful action towards pressing the Padres evenmore into October than they’ve gone in 25 years.

Jake Mintz, the louder half of @CespedesBBQ is a baseball author for FOX Sports. He’s an Orioles fan living in New York City, and therefore, he leads a lonesome presence most Octobers. If he’s not viewing baseball, he’s nearly definitely riding his bike. Follow him on Twitter @Jake_Mintz.