Darvish’s inspired pitching went to waste as the Padres were shut out in the final 24 innings

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Yu Darvish slapped the “PS” patch on his uniform and then got to work on his way to an inspired performance.

However, try as he might, Darvish’s stellar performance in memory of late San Diego Padres owner Peter Seidler wasn’t enough to defeat the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday night.

With the Padres’ offense dormant, the Dodgers cruised to a 2-0 victory in the deciding Game 5 of the NL Division series. Less than a week after fate seemed to point San Diego toward the next round, the Padres returned home to reflect on what happened and come up with a plan for next season.

“Obviously, it’s a big game and you have the ball to throw in those big games, and for me it was about wanting to do that for Peter Seidler,” Darvish said through an interpreter after giving up two home runs between the three hits. he allowed 6 2/3 innings. “Unfortunately, the game continued as it was, so there is some disappointment.”

Seidler, who died in November at age 63, would be proud. Still, the mood in the Padres clubhouse after the final game of the season was one of dissatisfaction with what could have been.

After a disappointing 2023, the Padres traded Juan Soto to the New York Yankees and chose not to re-sign NL Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell. Still, they improved greatly behind right-hander Dylan Cease, who arrived from the Chicago White Sox.

Rookie center fielder Jackson Merrill was a perfect fit with the offensive-minded Padres, and Jurickson Profar had his best season in his 11th year in the big leagues. Fernando Tatis Jr., who missed all of 2022 due to a wrist injury and PED suspension, returned to All-Star form this year.

The Padres even got the better of the Dodgers to win the season series, but were unable to finish the NLDS as they lost the last two games. San Diego has not scored in its last 24 innings.

“We didn’t hit and scored some runs,” slugger Manny Machado said. “They did a tremendous job on the other side, on the pitching side. You have to give credit where credit is due. We just couldn’t string together strikes. We had some opportunities, couldn’t (advance) and came up short.”

Tatis hit two home runs in the Game 2 win and another in the Game 3 win, but couldn’t outscore the Dodgers from there.

“It was definitely a special group. I love every guy on this club,” Tatis said. “Man, I enjoyed my time this year with this group. I’m grateful to every single one of them for the way they treated me. They all worked with open arms. I definitely love this group.”

Darvish spoke quietly in the corner of the clubhouse afterward. He pitched well, but there was one moment he will remember most.

“Touching the patch means feeling Peter a little closer to you, right?” he said. “This was something that was designated by his daughter, so it has a lot of meaning.”

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB