SAN DIEGO – Yu Darvish rebounded from the shortest outing of his MLB career by dominating into the seventh inning, and the San Diego Padres beat the Atlanta Braves 2-1 Sunday night despite having just three hits.
“Aggressive use of his fastball, all-count breaking balls,” Padres manager Bob Melvin said. “He didn’t walk anybody. He was really, really good against a great lineup.”
Darvish (1-1) allowed a run and struck out eight batters in 6 2/3 innings against the reigning World Series champions after covering just 1 2/3 innings and allowing nine runs against the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday.
“I will never forget the last outing,” Darvish said through a translator. “I thought the fastball was pretty good today. There was some good ride to it. I thought the two-seamer, especially to righties, was working pretty good.”
The Padres’ 35-year-old ace had command throughout Sunday’s start, allowing his only run on Marcell Ozuna’s home run in the seventh. His gem allowed San Diego to split the four-game series – Atlanta had won 5-2 in back-to-back contests after the Padres strolled to a 12-1 blowout victory in Thursday’s opener.
“He was in the zone a lot more. He was pitching on both sides of the plate,” Padres catcher Austin Nola said. “He was executing the corners, which makes it very difficult to hit.”
The Padres got their runs in the second inning, after loading the bases against starter Bryce Elder (1-1). Nola was hit by a pitch, and Jake Cronenworth followed with an RBI fielder’s-choice grounder. San Diego batters walked eight times in the game.
“Offensively we were patient again. We drew a lot of walks,” Melvin said. “In close games a lot of it has to do with defense and we were really good again tonight.”
Taylor Rogers retired the Braves in order in the ninth for his fourth save of the season, closing out a four-hitter for San Diego.
“Righties, lefties, (Rogers) has weapons for both,” Melvin said. “That slider is no fun at all. The sinker, he keeps it down and gets groundballs.”
Elder went 4 1/3 innings before handing off to fellow rookie Spencer Strider, who didn’t allow a hit or a run in 3 2/3 innings. Strider walked three and struck out three.
Matt Olson had two hits, including a double, for the Braves and raised his batting average to .421 in his first season with his hometown club after being traded by the Oakland Athletics last month and signing a long-term contract with Atlanta.
“He has become such a good hitter now – goes the other way now with two strikes, isn’t trying to pull all the time,” said Melvin, who managed Olson for six seasons with Oakland. “That was a pretty good pickup for them.”
The Braves, who dropped to 5-6, have not won a series this season. They split four games with the Cincinnati Reds to open the schedule, then dropped two of three to the Washington Nationals before hitting the road for the first time this year.
With the lockout pushing back the start of opening day, the Braves are playing their first 14 games in a row without a day off. Now they’re headed to Los Angeles for a three-game series against the Dodgers – a rematch of the past two National League Championship Series – that will the Braves’ first time facing former longtime first baseman Freddie Freeman. The five-time All-Star and 2020 NL MVP signed with the Dodgers last month, taking him home to his native Southern California, and he had four hits and three RBIs in a 9-1 win against the Reds on Sunday.
Atlanta’s scheduled starting pitcher for Monday night’s game is right-hander Huascar Ynoa (0-1, 15.00 ERA). Clayton Kershaw (1-0, 0.00 ERA) is set to start for Los Angeles after throwing seven perfect innings in his season debut.
Acuña on the mend
Atlanta star outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Gwinnett this week as he gets cloer to a return from the torn right ACL that ended his 2021 season. The Braves announced Sunday that Acuña would join the Stripers for a road series against the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp on Tuesday.
“I’m sure he’s excited to play real games under lights,” Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said. “It’s winding down to where we can get him back. That will be a boost for this club.”
The 24-year-old Acuña is a two-time All-Star and was playing like an MVP contender last season before injuring his knee in the outfield at Marlins Park on July 10. He was hitting .283 with 24 homers and a .990 on-base plus slugging percentage in 82 games at the time of the injury. He was left as a spectator for Atlanta’s World Series title run.
Acuña opened this season on the 10-day injured list and has been working out at the club’s spring training facility in North Port, Florida.