Padres name Yu Darvish as Opening Day starter
Credit: Matt Thomas/San Diego Padres/Getty Images
Yu Darvish will start the first game of the 2021 season for the San Diego Padres.
The San Diego Padres spent the offseason making a multitude of trades, in turn catapulting them right into the thick of the list of World Series contenders in 2021.
Among those, Yu Darvish and Blake Snell took the case as the best of the bunch, cementing the Padres’ rotation as one of the best groups in all of baseball.
The debate ramped up about who would be the Opening Day starter between the two. However, there is now a clear-cut answer, thanks to Dennis Lin of The Athletic.
Yu Darvish is the Padres' opening-day starter, Jayce Tingler said. Blake Snell will start the second game.
— Dennis Lin (@dennistlin) March 25, 2021
This might not be a surprise, and to be honest, pegging either one of those two as the starter would’ve been the right choice. In fact, Jayce Tingler explained the difficulty of the decision and added it ‘could’ve went either way.”
Honestly, it was a really hard decision,” Tinger said, per 97.3 The Fan.
Jayce Tingler was asked why he chose to go with Yu Darvish as his Opening Day starter: pic.twitter.com/VxQNUnlDlT
— 97.3 The Fan (@973TheFanSD) March 25, 2021
Darvish was the Cy Young runner-up last season with the Chicago Cubs, finishing the season with an 8-3 record and a 2.01 ERA with 93 K’s in the COVID-19 shortened season.
The Padres acquired Snell in a huge trade in December in a deal that included Victor Caratini coming to San Diego and Zach Davies and four prospects heading to the Windy City.
It’s no secret that AJ Preller and the Padres are going full-blown in an effort to bring a coveted World Series trophy to San Diego. Also, the first three pitchers in the rotations of Darvish, Snell, and Dinelson Lamet are arguably the best top-of-the-rotation group in the majors.
Oh, and 2022 will be even better when Mike Clevinger makes his return to the rotation.
The Padres rotation- and lineup- is dangerous, and everybody is excited to see what the duo of Darvish and Snell can bring to the table at Petco Park in 2021 and beyond.
Yu Darvish was filth today. The Padres are gonna be even more fun to watch this year than they were last year. pic.twitter.com/xAjuVacoQu
— Jared Carrabis (@Jared_Carrabis) March 7, 2021
The Arizona Diamondbacks will be the first victims to face the Padres daunted rotation and lineup with Opening Day set for the first day of April. The projected matchup? Madison Bumgarner vs. Yu Darvish in an enticing matchup, on paper at least.
Matthew Wadleigh, born in Oceanside and currently lives in Fresno. He lives with his wife and 2 dogs and is a sports enthusiast. Retired drummer and member of the Fresno State Marching Band. He has been a Padres fan since childhood and has suffered during the struggles just like everybody else.