Japanese ace Yu Darvish dazzled in his Los Angeles Dodgers debut on Friday, throwing seven scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts in a 6-0 victory over the New York Mets.
The 30-year-old right-hander from Osaka picked up his seventh win of the year and first since being acquired on Monday from the Texas Rangers on the trading deadline.
The Dodgers, who improved to 77-32 on the season, gave up three prospects to get Darvish, who allowed just three hits and one walk.
Photo: AFP
It marked the first win for Darvish since June 12. He was 0-5 with a 5.81 eaned-run average in his final eight starts for the Rangers.
Darvish became the first Dodger with 10 strikeouts in his debut since his fellow Japanese Kaz Ishii in 2002.
“It is not just about being a Dodger in my first outing,” Darvish said. “I gave up 10 runs in my last outing. I was a little concerned about that. I didn’t want to pitch bad in my first outing.”
Darvish received the only support he would need when Chris Taylor homered leading off the first against Mets right-hander Jacob deGrom at Citi Field in New York. Yasiel Puig homered in the second and Justin Turner drove in a run in the fifth.
The Dodgers won for the 42nd time in their last 49 games dating to June 7. The Mets lost for the fifth time in six games.
Chase Utley blasted a two-run home run for the Dodgers. He was booed loudly before every at-bat by fans who remember from his years with the Philadelphia Phillies, when he broke the leg of shortstop Ruben Tejada with a hard slide into second base during the 2015 National League playoffs.
The blast was his 39th regular-season homer against the Mets, most of any active player.
In other games on Friday, it was:
‧ Nationals 4, Cubs 2
‧ Indians 7, Yankees 2
‧ Red Sox 3, White Sox 2
‧ Astros 16, Blue Jays 7
‧ Twins 8, Rangers 4
‧ Rockies 4, Phillies 3
‧ Diamondbacks 2, Giants 1
‧ Mariners 5, Royals 2
‧ Angels 8, Athletics 6
‧ Reds 3, Cardinals 2
‧ Tigers 5, Orioles 2
‧ Pirates 10, Padres 6
‧ Brewers 2, Rays 0
‧ Braves 5, Marlins 3
‧ Twins 8, Rangers 4
The former interpreter for baseball star Shohei Ohtani on Thursday was sentenced to nearly five years in prison for bank and tax fraud after he stole nearly US$17 million from the Los Angeles Dodgers player’s bank account. Ippei Mizuhara, who was supposed to bridge the gap between the Japanese athlete and his English-speaking teammates and fans, was sentenced in federal court in Santa Ana to four years and nine months after pleading guilty last year. He was ordered to pay US$18 million in restitution, with nearly US$17 million going to Ohtani and the remainder to the US Internal Revenue Service. He was
SPEEDSKATER: Her bronze medal ended Taiwan’s run at the Asian Winter Games without a medal since the nation first participated in the second iteration in 1990 Speedskater Chen Ying-chu yesterday made history as the first athlete representing Taiwan to secure a medal at the Asian Winter Games. Competing at the HIC Speedskating Oval in Harbin, China, Chen clocked 10.510 seconds in the women’s 100m event, finishing third behind South Koreans Lee Na-hyum and Kim Min-sun, who posted times of 10.501 and 10.505 seconds respectively. Her bronze medal ended Taiwan’s drought at the Asian Winter Games since the nation first participated in the second iteration in 1990. This year’s Games mark Chen’s debut at the event. Previously excelling in roller speedskating, she won six medals at world championships before transitioning
The 40-year-old LeBron James on Thursday became the oldest player to score 40 points in an NBA game, putting up a season-high 42 in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 120-112 victory over the Golden State Warriors. James passed the record held by Michael Jordan, his idol and the only other NBA player to score 40 after his 40th birthday. “I’m old, that’s my take,” James said when asked about his latest achievement. “I need a glass of wine and some sleep, that’s what I think.” Jordan did it for the Washington Wizards just three days after turning 40 in February 2003. James is 38
Taiwan’s Lin Yun-ju and Kao Cheng-jui were defeated by their Chinese counterparts 3-0 on Saturday in the men’s doubles final at the World Table Tennis (WTT) Singapore Smash. Lin and Kao received their silver medals after being defeated by third-seeded duo Lin Shidong and Wang Chuqin of China 2-11, 4-11, 11-13. The Taiwan pair were left playing catch-up early in the match after the Chinese duo proved unstoppable in the first and second game. Although Lin and Kao picked up their pace in the third game and at one point took a 10-8 lead, they were crucially unable to take