Darvish eager to fit in with the Dodgers
Arizona blanks Cubs; Rays defeat Keuchel
ATLANTA — Yu Darvish is eager to avoid making a bad first impression with his new Los Angeles Dodgers teammates.
Darvish, traded from Texas to Los Angeles for three prospects Monday, joined the Dodgers on Wednesday. The four-time All-Star right-hander threw a bullpen session before Wednesday night’s game against Atlanta and settled into his new clubhouse.
Speaking through a translator, the Japanese pitcher said he doesn’t want to arrive at midseason, “do whatever you want to do and you’re a bad teammate.”
Added Darvish: “I don’t want to be that guy.”
Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw, currently on the DL with a lower back strain, chatted with Darvish at last month’s All-Star game. The conversation including a prediction from Kershaw that the two soon would be teammates.
“When I was talking with him he told me, ‘I’ll be looking for you in about three weeks,’ and it actually happened,” Darvish said. “It’s amazing.”
Darvish said Kershaw is “the No. 1 pitcher in all of baseball.”
“Of course I’m looking forward to being on the same team and I would like to learn all I can from him,” he said.
The trade sent Darvish to the team with the best record in the major leagues.
“It’s an honor to be here playing for a great team which is having such a good season,” he said. “This is my first time to get traded during a season. I was worried a little bit, going into the clubhouse and everything, but the guys have been really great. ”
Wednesday’s games
BRAVES 5, DODGERS 3: In Atlanta, Tyler Flowers had a tie-breaking pinchhit, two-run homer in the eighth inning as the Braves ended the Dodgers’ ninegame winning streak.
DIAMONDBACKS 3, CUBS 0: In Chicago, Zack Godley pitched three-hit ball over six scoreless innings, Jake Lamb drove in all the runs, and Arizona handed the Cubs just their fourth loss in 18 games since the All-Star break.
METS 10, ROCKIES 5: In Denver, Curtis Granderson hit a tie-breaking, three-run homer in the sixth inning, and the Mets erased a five-run deficit to beat Colorado.
CARDINALS 5, BREWERS 4: In Milwaukee, Yadier Molina hit two solo home runs and St. Louis held on.
REDS 5, PIRATES 2: In Pittsburgh, rookie Jesse Winker homered for the second straight game, hitting a tiebreaking drive in the seventh off newly acquired Pittsburgh reliever Joaquin Benoit that sent Cincinnati to win.
MARLINS 7, NATIONALS 0: In Miami, Vance Worley pitched seven innings and faced the minimum number of batters to earn his first victory since May 2016, helping the Marlins beat Washington.
RAYS 3, ASTROS 0: In Houston, rookie Austin Pruitt and three relievers combined on a five-hitter and Tampa Bay handed Dallas Keuchel (9-1) his first loss of the season. RANGERS 5, MARINERS 1: In Arlington, Texas, Joey Gallo hit another impressively long home run and Texas snapped a four-game losing streak.
BLUE JAYS 5, WHITE SOX 1: In Chicago, J.A. Happ had a season-high 10 strikeouts in seven innings, matching his longest start of the season, as Toronto beat the White Sox. TWINS 5, PADRES 2: In San Diego, Ervin Santana threw a four-hitter for his major league-best fifth complete game and hit a two-run single to lead Minnesota. ORIOLES 6, ROYALS 0: In Baltimore, Jeremy Hellickson threw seven outstanding innings in his Orioles debut and Baltimore completed a three-game sweep. TIGERS 2, YANKEES 0: In New York, Jordan Zimmermann pitched his first scoreless outing for Detroit in 1½ seasons and the Tigers won a soggy matinee that included 4 hours, 37 minutes of rain delays and ended well after dark.