Dodgers: Padres Pitcher Yu Darvish Can’t Wait to Face Clayton Kershaw This Weekend
In any given offseason over the last couple of years, you might find Clayton Kershaw and Yu Darvish playing catch at some field near Dallas. The two Texas residents may no longer be teammates with the Dodgers, but finding a throwing partner isn’t always easy.
But the 2021 season has a little bit of a different feel to it. Not only is Darvish no longer with the Dodgers, but now he’s with a division rival. Darvish was traded from the Cubs to the Padres this past offseason as part of their massive starting rotation rebuild.
This coming weekend, Darvish and Kershaw will face off for the first time as NL West opponents. The Dodgers will throw a combination of Walker Buehler, Kershaw, and Trevor Bauer in their first series against San Diego. For Darvish, he can’t wait to go up against his old throwing partner.
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The 34-year-old RHP talked recently about the matchup with the Dodgers and getting to face Kershaw. Darvish joked that he has not heard from Clayton since he was traded to the Padres though, citing the fact that they are now division rivals as the reason. It also probably doesn’t help that Darvish is no longer a Texas resident thus no longer a big league neighbor.
Both guys have been very good early on in the season, save for Kershaw’s first start of the year. Darvish finished second in CyYoung voting in the 2020 season, and that success has carried over to San Diego. Through his first 2 starts of the year, he has tossed 17.2 innings and allowed 6 earned runs. The Dodgers southpaw has been lights out in his last 2 starts.
The Padres and Dodgers series should be fun to watch all season long. The 2 powerhouse NL West teams are favorites to win the NL pennant, and you can bet every game will matter.
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Be careful what you wish for. You may get it.
Dearish was soooo really bad as a Dodger. Good luck SD when he has any kind of pressure he failed miserably.
Darvish will have a high pitch count through 5 innings which will be the end of him , less than two weeks the Dodgers Pitching Staff is the ACE of the MLB.This team has come out with more swag and determination with a huge chip on their shoulders and by the All Star game the Dodgers will be 10-12 games ahead on of the second place team. They are deep and boy can they hit wait until Bellinger gets going !
It’s too early to say whether the pods will hang with the Dodgers this season. Hats off to Yu for being hyped up to face his former team with a good team around him. But we’ll see if the pods are as deep and as good as the Dodgers over 162 games. I don’t think they are! Go Dodgers!