“A lot of us, it might take a game or two to make those adjustments, and he’s able to make those adjustments within the same game, sometimes within the inning.” “He’s so good that even in games where he might give up a few runs, you see him make those adjustments very quick,” said Nick Martinez, who reunited with Darvish this year after teaming with him for the Rangers. Well before this year, he acquired a reputation for learning (or stealing) new pitches within a matter of days. Virtually no one on the planet can manipulate a baseball as Darvish can. But, like the upshoot slider and Gallen’s curveball, they are not exercises in frivolity they are meant to keep hitters off balance, to give repeat opponents different looks and, yes, to satisfy his obsession with spin.Īt this stage of his career, he has earned the leeway. He has since experimented with at least a few more. “I don’t know what it was before,” said Ruben Niebla, San Diego’s first-year pitching coach, “but I know that this year he is very aware (that) every pitch that he wants to throw has a purpose.”ĭarvish entered the year with as many as 11 pitch types, including variations of certain offerings. “It’s kind of unmatched, as far as I’ve seen,” Padres manager Bob Melvin said. He’s watching film non-stop, (including) right after the game, looking at the next team we’ll be facing a week later.” I mean, he looks at every single variable. “But he’s breaking it down to different counts - pitcher’s count, hitter’s count, home park, away park. “All of us are always looking at what we can throw to get ahead in the count, what guys chase when we want to put guys away, what guys are aggressive early,” fellow starter Joe Musgrove said.
And, largely because of his studiousness, he might be enjoying himself more than ever, too.Ĭatcher Austin Nola, on working with Darvish: “We have a game plan, but usually we never follow the game plan.” (Orlando Ramirez / USA Today) Now, at 36, he might be pitching as well as ever. And many of them saw more between-starts preparation - in volume and detail - than they had seen from any pitcher.ĭarvish, who rose to stardom as a freakishly talented teenager, once relied more on feel than video, more on premade scouting reports than his own game-planning. In his second season with the Padres, teammates and coaches noticed the right-hander was more at ease in his environment. Meanwhile, Darvish found his process especially fulfilling. In two games against the Mets, Friday’s playoff opponent, he tossed a combined 14 innings and yielded only one run. Darvish posted a 3.10 ERA, notched a career-low WHIP (0.950) and completed at least six frames in all but two of his 30 starts. This year’s results have helped, of course. “That has been a very fun process for me.” “The fun process for me has been, particularly this year, studying the hitters in the way I was studying,” Darvish said through interpreter Shingo Horie. And there was something else he had often discussed since he fired six no-hit innings on Opening Day. His fastball command, he felt, had been sharp.
Yet on Thursday, the eve of Darvish’s Game 1 start in the Wild Card Series, the reigning National League Pitcher of the Month mentioned other factors when asked about his recent success.
#Darvish next game professional#
3, he recorded his 3,000th professional strikeout, joining Hideo Nomo as the only players to reach the milestone between careers in Japan and the U.S. Last season, he became the fastest pitcher to log 1,500 strikeouts in the majors. The right-hander possesses the most varied and unpredictable repertoire in baseball. Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.Crafting and honing offspeed pitches, for Darvish, has long been a source of enjoyment. Just couldn't get that next hit today with with men on base."
"We got men on base we just missed the next hit for most of the game, really," Counsell said after the game. They had 12 hits - the same number as San Diego - but left 11 runners on base and were 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position. The Brewers lead the National League in run differential at plus-27 but had trouble getting runners across the plate in Saturday's 10-3 loss. He faced the Padres once in 2022 while a member of the Chicago Cubs, getting no decision in his team's loss while giving up three runs on five hits and five walks in three innings. He is 1-6 lifetime against the Padres with a 5.28 ERA in 15 starts with 63 strikeouts in 87 innings.
He has worked 11 innings in his first two starts this season, giving up three runs on 10 hits and three walks with six strikeouts. Miley earned the 100th win of his career in his first start of 2023 against the New York Mets.
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