Yu Darvish used the “PS” patch on his uniform as inspiration before Game 5 of the National League Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
While he gave the San Diego Padres faithful everything he had, two solo home runs from the Dodgers ended the Friars’ World Series dreams.
On Sunday, Darvish posted a thank you letter to the fans on X (formerly Twitter) stating the following:
“Thank you for supporting all of us throughout the year. Whether it was through TV, radio, or at the ballpark — I feel truly grateful for your support. I will find points for improvement, and continue to work hard to become a better player.”
Darvish didn’t pitch poorly. He gave up three hits in 6.2 innings but two of the three hits happened to be home runs.
“Obviously, it’s a big game and you’re given the ball to pitch in these big games, and for me it was about wanting to do this for Peter Seidler,” Darvish said through an interpreter. “Unfortunately, the game went on as it did so there is some disappointment there.”
After the game, Darvish spoke softly in a quiet corner of the clubhouse. Despite pitching effectively, one moment from the outing stood out to him above all the rest.
“Touching the patch, it means to feel Peter a little bit closer to you, right?” he said. “That was something that was designed by his daughter so it holds a lot of meaning.”
Their offense was the biggest issue with the Padres across almost three final games. It fell silent. San Diego did not score over the final 24 innings.
“We didn’t hit and score 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 it’s due. We just couldn’t string along hits. We had some opportunities, we couldn’t (push) through and we fell short.”
Fernando Tatis Jr. hit two home runs in Game 2 and added another in Game 3, helping secure wins in both games. However, his efforts weren’t enough to carry the offense beyond that point, as the Dodgers took control from there.
“It definitely was a special group. I love every single guy in this clubhouse,” Tatis said. “Man, I enjoyed my time this year with this group. I’m grateful to every single one of them for how they treated me. Everybody worked with open arms. I definitely love this group.”
