Darvish, Padres kickoff series with 7-0 blanking of Rockies

Yu Darvish did some damage on the mound, and away from it, against the Rockies as the first-year Padre struck out 10 batters through seven innings and cranked a perfect double into the corner pocket of left field. Manny Machado got the scoring started with an opening-inning two-run homer and the Friars strolled past Colorado by a score of 7-0 on Monday night.

On top of his 10 K’s, Darvish allowed just four hits and zero walks while never putting himself into a three-ball count. Nabil Crismatt took over the final two innings and struck out a pair while allowing zero hits.

Victor Caratini continued his hot streak with two more RBIs on the night, increasing his total to seven over the past four games. The former Cub had recorded just 11 total RBIs through the seasons first five weeks and has since emerged as a giant spark for this offense. Ha-Seong Kim also batted in his fourth run in as many games and his sixth in the past eight outings. The recent performances by both these players cannot be understated during a time where the team has missed several starters for almost a week now.

After the win, the Padres remain just half of a game back behind the Giants for first place in the NL West. The team’s recent offensive surge has taken them out of the division’s basement, overtaking the Giants with 184 runs scored. As far as run differential, they’re not just four runs behind the Dodgers at +47. Defensively, the Padres still hold the lowest mark in the division for runs allowed this season at 137. Lastly, the team’s four-game win streak has made their home record much prettier at 13-10.

Game two starts once again at 7:10 p.m. with Blake Snell (1-0, 4.19 ERA) and Austin Gomber (2-4, 5.49 ERA) on the mound.