Yu Darvish dazzles as Padres shutout Phillies

The San Diego Padres game ended in a shutout for the third consecutive day as hitting’s been at a premium all series long.

Fortunately for the Padres, they were on the winning side for the rubber match. Yu Darvish was splendid, scattering six hits and striking out five over seven scoreless frames, and Taylor Rogers picked up a four-out save to seal the win.

All nine Padres in the starting lineup picked up hits but failed to add on, going just 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position. It was the first time in 2022 that all the Padres starters picked up hits, and oddly enough, there were no extra-base hits on the afternoon for either team. While the struggles at the plate continued for the Padres, fantastic pitching proved enough to win.

The Padres started spectacularly, as two singles gave the Padres an early chance to jump into the lead. However, the Padres went 0-for-3 in early opportunities with runners in scoring position in the first, and the game stayed tied. After two quiet innings at the plate, the fourth inning proved crucial for the Padres.

San Diego started off the inning with three consecutive singles, with Robinson Cano’s 108.5 miles per hour line drive to right scoring Jurickson Profar. Wil Myers came home on Ha-Seong Kim’s sacrifice fly, just beating the throw from left fielder Kyle Schwarber.

Hats off to @RobinsonCano for the first run of the day! #TimeToShine pic.twitter.com/7MWBE6XfZj

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) May 19, 2022

Myers left just after the ball was caught by Schwarber, resulting in an appeal by the Phillies, but he was correctly ruled to have left safely. The two runs the Padres scrapped across in the fourth proved to be enough, even despite them missing more chances to add on. They left runners in scoring position in the sixth and seventh innings after already missing chances in the first and fourth innings. It was a frustrating day at the plate, but they still picked up a second consecutive road series win thanks to the stellar pitching staff.

Yu Darvish dazzled as his seven scoreless innings tied for his longest outing of the season. It was his sixth quality start in eight outings as he carved up the Phillies lineup. After a leadoff single by Rhys Hoskins, Darvish retired 14 of the next 15 batters he faced. He worked his way out of a jam in the sixth, as the Phillies put runners on the corners with one out, but a strikeout and a groundout kept the game scoreless. He then finished his game with an efficient first inning, allowing an infield single, but keeping the rest of the Philadelphia contact weak. He struck out just five batters, allowing a lot of balls in play, but he made big pitches when he needed them most. 

After Darvish, interim manager Ryan Christenson turned the ball over to Luis Garcia, who has posted a 2.70 ERA out of the bullpen in 2022. He allowed a leadoff single, but he then induced two outs. Having met the three batter minimum, Rogers came out of the bullpen to secure a four-out save. The Padres closer was shaky early, surrendering a single to place runners on first and third, bringing the go-ahead run to the plate. However, he induced a groundout before shutting the game down in the ninth inning. The save was his MLB-leading 15th of the season.

That's an @MLB leading 15th save for @trogers34 👊 #TimeToShine | @ClickUp pic.twitter.com/XbgrZKptaa

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) May 19, 2022

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The Padres continued their success away from Petco Park, improving to 14-7 on the road. The Padres picked up ten hits to secure an important win, and they have not lost consecutive games since April 15 and 16 against the Atlanta Braves. Bob Melvin will be expected to return to his role as manager on Friday against the Giants, as he’s recovered from his prostate surgery. 

Sean Manaea will toe the rubber for San Diego, and the Giants will have Jakob Junis in the first game of a three-game set in the Bay Area.

Sam Evans

Sam is a Senior in High School. He has been writing for three years, and started at EVT in June of 2021. He’s headed to Syracuse’s Newhouse School of Communications in the fall of 2023.