San Diego Padres ace Yu Darvish set a historic mark in career victories on Friday night. The 11-year veteran hit the 100-win mark as the Padres defeated the Colorado Rockies in Denver, 9-6.
Darvish’s historic victory came from a 5.1-inning performance in which he allowed five hits, four earned runs, four walks, and six strikeouts. He cruised early, as Darvish only allowed one run through the first five innings.
With the win, Darvish also joined exclusive company. He became only the second Japanese-born starting pitcher to hit or eclipse 100 career MLB wins. The only other pitcher to achieve that feat was former Los Angeles Dodgers great Hideo Nomo.
Over his 11-year career, Yu Darvish has been one of the best pitchers in baseball. Since 2012, Darvish’s fWAR of 33.6 ranks him 9th among all qualified MLB pitchers. He’s posted an ERA of 3.54 with a K/9 of 10.76 across his 1557.0 career innings.
He’s also shown that he’s a problem in the American and National League. He began his career with the Texas Rangers before the Los Angeles Dodgers acquired him in 2017. Since then, Darvish has played in the NL, joining the Chicago Cubs and landing with the Padres.
So, a tip of the cap to Yu, who continues to etch a strong legacy of his own. All that’s missing, really, is a World Series Championship. But his Padres are struggling, as despite high expectations, the team is in fourth place.
About Chris Novak
Chris Novak has been talking and writing about sports ever since he can remember. Previously, Novak wrote for and managed sites in the SB Nation network for nearly a decade from 2013-2022