Tokyo, 15 August, /AJMEDIA/
Yu Darvish allowed four runs over seven innings to take the loss as the San Diego Padres fell 4-1 against the Baltimore Orioles on Monday.
Darvish (8-8), who gave up eight hits and a walk, struck out six at Petco Park and set the record for most MLB strikeouts by a Japanese player at 1,919, moving past Japanese baseball hall of famer Hideo Nomo, a consultant with the Padres and was at the game.
“I remember watching him on television when I was a kid, and we all know how great of a pitcher he is,” Darvish said through Japanese interpreter Shingo Horie according to MLB.com. “So just being able to be in his league, it means a lot.”
Ryan O’Hearn pulled a 1-2 sweeper with no out in the second off Darvish for a solo home run as the Orioles scored with their first hit of the game.
Darvish allowed two hits and a walk to load the bases in the fifth with one out, and Gunnar Henderson’s opposite-field double to the left corner cleared the bases for a 4-0 lead.
“It wasn’t hit particularly hard. It was placed well, but other than the homer that was all he gave up,” Padres manager Bob Melvin said. “He was efficient in his pitches, only walked one guy.”
The right-hander tied and then set the Japanese record in the sixth when he fanned both Ryan Mountcastle and Ramon Urias with third-pitch fastballs.
“Two absolutely fantastic pitchers, trailblazers…continued to do it for a long period of time, both here and over there,” Melvin said.
Garrett Cooper’s solo shot off Grayson Rodriguez (3-3) in the home half was the only run for the Padres.
At Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, Los Angeles Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani went hitless in three at-bats in a 12-0 loss to the Texas Rangers.