In his second start off the injured list, Yu Darvish pushed his pitch count to 83 on Saturday. The shape of the bullpen as it was, he was pushed into the fifth inning, too.

Also, because it’s Yu Darvish.

“Took him a little further than we wanted to,” Padres manager Mike Shildt said. “But he was in a range that we were comfortable with, and you know, a guy like Darvish, who was wanting the moment, we’re going to give him the benefit of the doubt.

“A ground ball found a hole.”

With the Padres’ preferred high-leverage arms all pitching three of the last four games, Darvish was asked to face the heart of the Phillies’ order a third time.

The 38-year-old veteran buckled, but only after nearly escaping a self-induced jam.

After striking out Kyle Schwarber looking on three pitches with runners on first and second, Darvish walked Bryce Harper to load the bases and then allowed Edmundo Sosa to sneak a ground ball through the left side of the infield to chase the Padres’ right-hander from the game.

Bryan Hoeing entered and retired the next hitter, Nick Castellanos, on a fly ball to center field to close the book on Darvish.

He topped out at 97 mph on the gun while striking out two, walking three and hitting a batter (Alec Bohm, who ultimately left the game with a left ribcage contusion and was replaced by Sosa).

Darvish allowed five hits and four runs, all of which were earned despite Darvish’s throwing error after scrambling to collect a comebacker complicating matters in a two-run second.

“I’m trying to build up my pitch count still, but to be able to have that last guy in the fifth inning and be able to pitch like that, it does mean a lot,” Darvish said through interpreter Shingo Horie. “And it allows me to build also. It allows me to build up my stamina as well. So yes, I think it was good that I was able to pitch that deep into the game.”

The error followed hitting Bohm to start the inning. Bohm scored on the gaffe, yes, but he also would have scored on the one-out double from J.T. Realmuto that opened up a 2-0 lead.

The start was Darvish’s second since returning from the elbow discomfort that first shelved him in spring training and persisted after a mid-May rehab game with Triple-A El Paso. The most recent ramp-up did not include any minor league rehab assignments, so pitchers fielding practice isn’t the only rust he’s looking to shake off as he folds back into the rotation.

“Trying to find the release point, like being really consistent with that,” Darvish said. “When it’s live BP, it’s kind of hard to go full intensity, compared to on a major-league mound. So trying to find that timing, trying to find out correct release point is probably what I need to work on.”

Game on

Nick Pivetta will start the last game ahead of the All-Star break. He’ll have likely worked up a good sweat before he heads out to the bullpen for Sunday’s warm-ups.

Among the Padres to make good use of the ping-pong table in the middle of the home clubhouse at Petco Park, Pivetta is easily the most competitive.

Even on start days.

Before beating the Diamondbacks with seven strikeouts over 5⅔ shutout innings on Tuesday, Pivetta lamented an “upset” at the hands of Xander Bogaerts.

Jackson Merrill and Gavin Sheets are Pivetta’s most frequent opponents in these spirited games.

“I just like to hang out with my friends and have fun,” Pivetta said. “ … I think when … you’re just having fun before the game, it’s more about just being loose and not trying to take it too seriously and just having fun.”

An All-Star Future?

Shortstop Leo De Vries entered Saturday’s All-Star Futures Game in Atlanta as a pinch-runner and went 0-for-1 with a strikeout in the NL’s 4-2 win.

De Vries replaced Pirates shortstop Konnor Griffin in the bottom of the fourth and played the last two innings in the field.

The 18-year-old De Vries is hitting .248/.359/.406 with six homers, 40 RBIs and six steals in 71 games so far at high Single-A Fort Wayne. He’s been better over his last 16 games (.305/.446/.475) after enduring the sort of sharp growing pains (.214/.331/.310 over his previous 39 games) you’d expect from the youngest player in the Midwest League.

“They are pitching him hard,” Padres assistant farm director Mike Daly said. “He’s not seeing as much velocity, not as many fastballs. They respect him as a hitter, so it continues to be maturation (process) for him.”

Notable

  • Rookie RHP Ryan Bergert was optioned to Triple-A El Paso and rookie RHP Alek Jacob was called up to bolster the bullpen before Saturday’s game.
  • Saturday’s crowd of 43,444, the 42nd sellout of the season, pushed the season total this year at Petco Park to 2,030,227.

Originally Published: July 12, 2025 at 8:17 PM PDT