Right-hander Yu Darvish will be the Opening Day starter when the San Diego Padres visit the Arizona Diamondbacks in Phoenix on April 7.
It will be the second straight Opening Day start for the 35-year-old Darvish, who was an All-Star last season despite a second-half slump that left him with a 4.22 overall ERA and an 8-11 record.
San Diego manager Bob Melvin chose Darvish over right-hander Joe Musgrove, who fired the franchise’s first no-hitter last season.
“That’s not a difficult call either,” Melvin said of tabbing Darvish. “The difficult part is what Joe accomplished last year, too. I’m hoping there is a good reward for him.”
Musgrove, 29, enjoyed the best season of his six-year career last season as he went 11-9 with a 3.18 ERA in 31 starts and one relief outing. Overall, he is 40-47 with a 4.02 ERA in 140 appearances (114 starts) with the Houston Astros (2016-17), Pittsburgh Pirates (2018-20) and Padres.
Darvish, a five-time All-Star, is 79-67 with a 3.56 ERA in 212 career starts with the Texas Rangers (2012-17), Los Angeles Dodgers (2017), Chicago Cubs (2018-20) and Padres.
Darvish’s 2021 Opening Day assignment also was against Arizona. He allowed four runs, eight hits, one walk and struck out six in 4 2/3 innings in a game the Padres rallied to win 8-7.
