ATLANTA (AP) — Yu Darvish dominated a slumping Braves offense and extended his career-high scoreless innings streak to 25 while earning his 200th professional win as the San Diego Padres hammered Atlanta 9-1 on Sunday night.
Darvish (4-1) gave up only two hits, struck out nine and walked one on 99 pitches in seven innings, and lowered his ERA 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 last four starts, has 107 major league 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.”
Jake Cronenworth, Luis Campusano 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, two runs scored and an RBI.
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 and walked three, and struck out three.
Braves reserve shortstop Luke Williams pitched a perfect ninth.
Meanwhile, the Padres' pitching has 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.
“(Darvish) was locating every pitch and we couldn’t get him tonight,” said Braves DH Marcell Ozuna, who was 1 for 4 and extended his hitting streak to 11 games. “He was good.”
The Padres entered the series after being swept by the last-place Rockies.
“That’s just baseball,” Cronenworth said. “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.”
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 drive in the third run.
The Padres added four runs in the fourth, helped by a dropped fly ball by Ronald Acuña Jr. in right field. Fernando Tatis Jr. had a two-run double, Profar had a run-scoring 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.
