San Diego Padres pitcher Yu Darvish (11) works in the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Sunday, May 19, 2024, in Atlanta.
11:28 JST, May 20, 2024
ATLANTA (AP) — Yu Darvish dominated a slumping Braves offense and extended his career-high scoreless innings streak to 25 while earning his 200th professional victory as the San Diego Padres defeated Atlanta 9-1 on Sunday night.
Darvish (4-1) gave up just two hits, struck out nine and walked one on 99 pitches in seven innings, and lowered his ERA to 2.08.
He 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 last four starts, has 107 Major League victories and 93 in the NPB.
Jake Cronenworth, Luis Campusano and Ha-Saeong Kim all hit home runs for the Padres, who came in without extra base hits in their previous three games. Jurickson Profar went 3 for 4 with a walk, two runs scored and an RBI.
Luis Arraez went 2 for 4 with a walk, a run and a stolen base, extending his on-base streak to 23 games, the longest active stretch in the Majors.
Atlanta starter Bryce Elder (1-2) struggled from the start, allowing six earned runs in three innings. He gave up nine hits, walked three and struckout three.
Braves reserve shortstop Luke Williams threw a perfect ninth.
Meanwhile, the Padres’ pitching dominated the Braves through the first two games of the four-game series, limiting Atlanta to two runs and 11 hits while recording 29 strikeouts.
San Diego took a 3-0 lead in the first inning. Cronenworth hit a two-run homer into the Chop House restaurant in right field with two outs. Manny Machado, Xander Bogaerts and Jackson Merrill all followed with singles to account for the third run.
The Padres added four runs in the fourth, helped by a missed catch by Ronald Acuña Jr. in right field. Fernando Tatis Jr. had a two-run double, Profar had a runscoring 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.
