Yu Darvish’s return to the mound last week wasn’t the stuff of fairy tales, but the San Diego Padres were just glad to have the former All-Star back out there.
The 38-year-old right-hander is scheduled to make just his second start since May 29 on Tuesday when the Padres open a two-game interleague series at the Seattle Mariners.
Last Wednesday against the visiting Detroit Tigers, Darvish lasted just 2 2/3 innings as he gave up three runs on four hits, with two walks and four strikeouts. San Diego rallied to win 6-5 in 10 innings.
“There was a lot of adrenaline going into this game, maybe a little trying to do too much, kind of getting used to the pitch clock again,” Darvish told The Athletic. “I think a key (going forward) would be to try to be a little bit calmer.”
Darvish (4-3, 3.51 ERA) went on the injured list in June with a left groin strain, then was placed on the restricted list in early July while he tended to a private family matter.
Padres manager Mike Shildt seemed satisfied with Darvish’s performance in his return.
“Stuff was great,” Shildt said. “He was 95 (mph) coming out easy, secondary pitches looked like they were there. As you can expect, first time back in a big-league game, there can be a little bit of just-missing.
“I thought the ball came out well. He said he felt good, arm felt good, body felt good. He just knocked a little bit of the proverbial rust off.”
San Diego (81-64), which enters Monday leading the National League’s wild-card race with a two-game edge over third, could certainly use Darvish for the stretch run and potentially for the playoffs.
“You give a guy three months off basically, and he’s doing what he can to get back and healthy, and obviously, he grinded to do it. It’s not easy,” Padres outfielder Jackson Merrill told The Athletic. “Getting him now at the strength he has and how healthy he is, it’s huge for us.”
The Mariners (73-71) entered their off-day Monday 4 1/2 games behind the Houston Astros in the American League West and 3 1/2 games back of the Minnesota Twins for the AL’s third and final wild-card berth.
Seattle has won four of its past five games, scoring in double digits in two of those — including a 10-4 victory Sunday at the St. Louis Cardinals. Randy Arozarena and Jorge Polanco both hit two-run homers in Sunday’s win.
Mariners players credited hitting coach Edgar Martinez — a Hall of Famer who joined the staff when Dan Wilson replaced the fired Scott Servais as manager on Aug. 23 — for implementing a simpler approach.
“I feel like a lot of us are all really young, even though we have different ages, but like, the experience that he brings to the table every single night, it’s so much,” Julio Rodriguez said. “I’m happy that he’s on our side. Really happy.”
Martinez doesn’t sound like he’s a fan of baseball’s advanced metrics.
“I don’t look at it that much,” Martinez said. “I mean, for me, batting average, runs scored, RBIs, on-base percentage, those are the ones I look at. The other ones — exit velocity, (launch) angle — I don’t care if you have an exit velocity of 120 (mph). But if you have the wrong swing, you’re going to hit for a low average and the production is not going to be that great.”
Right-hander George Kirby (11-10, 3.61), who has won his past two starts, is scheduled to take the mound Tuesday for Seattle. He allowed two runs on six hits over six innings with no walks and nine strikeouts in a 16-3 win last Wednesday at the Oakland Athletics.
Kirby surrendered five runs on 11 hits over 3 2/3 innings in his lone career start against San Diego last season. Darvish is 7-4 with a 3.57 ERA in 15 career starts against the Mariners.
–Field Level Media