The San Diego Padres had a chance to clinch a date with the New York Mets for the National League pennant on Wednesday night but saw it slip away quickly.
The Los Angeles Dodgers ran away with an 8-0 win forcing a decisive Game 5 on Friday night at Dodger Stadium.
Following the loss, manager Mike Shildt revealed Yu Darvish as the starter for the winner-take-all contest.
Darvish dominated the Dodgers in Game 2 which the Padres won 10-2 amidst chaos in the stands with fans throwing baseballs, beer cans, and other debris at San Diego outfielders Jurickson Profar and Fernando Tatis Jr.
Darvish was both efficient and effective from his first pitch during his previous start, retiring the formidable top of the Dodgers’ lineup in order. He got Shohei Ohtani to swing and miss on a wicked backdoor slider, setting the tone for one of the best postseason starts of his impressive career.
“He was fantastic,” said Shildt after the win. “Threw the ball exceptionally well — all parts of the lineup, including Ohtani. And give him a ton of credit for keeping the focus and concentration to be able to go grab that seventh inning.”
When play was delayed in the now infamous seventh inning, Darvish didn’t let it phase him. He started the inning on a shaky note by walking Teoscar Hernández. However, he bounced back and retired the next three batters in order, finishing his night with the Padres maintaining their three-run lead.
He left after seven innings, having given up just three hits and one run on only 82 pitches. His impressive mix of breaking balls kept the Dodgers’ lineup on their toes, and he managed to limit a scorching-hot Ohtani to one strikeout and two easy groundouts.
“Pitching is a disruption of a hitter’s balance and timing,” Shildt said. “… Yu is really good at that. The back-and-forth is the timing. The in-and-out is the balance. And he was able to do that masterfully tonight.”
The Padres will need Darvish to be like he was before or better on Friday night. He will have to deal with a hostile crowd and a Dodgers lineup who gained momentum with its blowout win on Wednesday.
