ATLANTA — The Atlanta Braves were in a slump even before Sunday night’s game against the San Diego Padres at Truist Park.
That doesn’t mean Yu Darvish didn’t have a whole lot to do with the home team’s trouble at the plate being extended.
Darvish dominated the Braves while extending his career-high scoreless innings streak to 25 and earning his 200th professional win as the Padres hammered Atlanta 9-1.
Darvish (4-1) gave up only two hits, struck out nine batters and walked one on 99 pitches in seven innings, lowering his ERA for the season to 2.08.
“Yu has been elite the last four times out,” Padres manager Mike Shildt said. “He’s been nothing short of magnificent.”
Darvish became the third Japanese-born pitcher to reach 200 career wins between MLB and Nippon Professional Baseball, joining Hiroki Huroda (203) and Hideo Nomo (201). Darvish, who has won his past four starts, has 107 MLB victories and 93 in the NPB.
“Those two other pitchers, obviously we know how good they are,” Darvish said through an interpreter. “Just to be a little bit closer to them, I feel honored and it gives me confidence moving forward.”
Luis Campusano, Jake Cronenworth and Ha-Seong Kim hit home runs for the Padres, who entered with no extra-base hits in their previous three games. Jurickson Profar was 3-for-4 with a walk while driving in one run and scoring twice. Luis Arraez was 2-for-4 with a walk, a run and a stolen base to extend his on-base streak to 23 games, the longest active stretch in the majors.
Atlanta starter Bryce Elder (1-2) struggled from the outset and allowed six earned runs in three innings. He gave up nine hits, walked three batters and struck out three. Braves reserve shortstop Luke Williams pitched a perfect ninth.
San Diego pitchers have frustrated the Braves through the first two games of the four-game series, limiting them to two runs and 11 hits while recording 29 strikeouts.
Braves designated hitter Marcell Ozuna, who was 1-for-4 on Sunday to extend his hitting streak to 11 games, said Darvish “was locating every pitch, and we couldn’t get him tonight. He was good.” Ozuna’s hit was a two-out double in the first that broke his bat.
Atlanta avoided the shutout when Chadwick Tromp doubled to lead off the bottom of the ninth and Ozzie Albies hit a one-out single to left. Ozuna then grounded into a game-ending double play.
The Padres came to Atlanta after being swept in a three-game series at home by the Colorado Rockies, who are last in the National League West standings.
“That’s just baseball,” Cronenworth said, before adding of the Braves: “That’s a really good team over there. They’ve had 100 wins for the last X amount of years, we came in after an off day and reset and played good baseball.”
The Padres evened their record at 24-24, and while they’re second in the NL West, they’re 7 1/2 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers (32-17), who are seeking to win the division for the third straight season and the 11th time in a 12-year span.
Atlanta (26-16) is the six-time reigning champ in the NL East but currently second, five games behind the MLB-leading Philadelphia Phillies (34-14). The Braves, who have lost three games in a row and four of their past six, have not lost four games in a row this season.
San Diego took a 3-0 lead in the first inning, when Cronenworth hit a two-run homer into the Chop House restaurant in right field with two outs, and Manny Machado, Xander Bogaerts and Jackson Merrill all followed with singles to drive in the third run.
The Padres added four runs in the fourth, helped by Ronald Acuña Jr. dropping a fly ball in right field. Fernando Tatis Jr. had a two-run double, Profar hit an RBI double, and Bogaerts had a sacrifice fly on what would have been the third out had Acuña not dropped Machado’s sinking fly in the previous at-bat.
The Braves and Padres will play a doubleheader Monday to finish the four-game series due to Saturday’s rainout.
In the opening game, right-handers are the scheduled starters as Atlanta’s Reynaldo Lopez (2-1, 1.34) and San Diego’s Dylan Cease (5-3, 2.45) take the mound. In the nightcap, it will be left-hander Chris Sale (6-1, 2.54) for Atlanta against San Diego righty Randy Vasquez (0-2, 6.32).