Darvish sets record for fastest to 1,500 K's

SAN DIEGO -- Yu Darvish, nine seasons into his big league career, is still punching out opposing hitters at a historic clip.

Darvish recorded his 1,500th career strikeout in the sixth inning of the Padres' 6-2 victory over the Dodgers on Monday night. In just 197 games, Darvish is by far the fastest pitcher in big league history to reach that milestone, eclipsing Randy Johnson, who needed 206.

Darvish was particularly excellent on Monday, allowing just one run and two hits across six innings. To start the sixth, he caught Steven Souza Jr. looking at an 0-2 backdoor cutter -- his 11th and final strikeout of the night to secure the milestone.

“Since I came here, I’ve had my ups, and I’ve had my downs,” Darvish said. “But the reason why I’m sitting here, being able to talk about reaching 1,500 strikeouts is definitely because of all the support I’ve been given since I started my career here. Just from the bottom of my heart, I’m really thankful and grateful.”

The veteran right-hander was at his sharpest in the early stages of the game. Mookie Betts opened the game with a sharp grounder to third base, and Gavin Lux followed with a walk. From there, Darvish was untouchable. Literally.

He struck out the next seven Dodgers hitters he faced -- the first Padres pitcher to do so since Jake Peavy on April 25, 2007.

“Today was special, man, what he did,” said Manny Machado, whose three-run homer in the first gave Darvish an early four-run lead to work with. “Fifteen hundred, the fastest guy to reach that, that’s a great accomplishment. ... I just know him as a player, the work that he puts in every single day. He comes in here, and he’s a workaholic, and he’s a leader. People feed off of that.”

The Padres fed off it on Monday. Facing the rival Dodgers for the first time in two months, it was Darvish who set the tone.

“To be honest with you, I like the Dodgers as a team,” Darvish said. “I get excited facing this team, so maybe there’s a little bit more adrenaline.”

Darvish might get excited to face the Dodgers. They sure don’t get excited to face him. In four career starts against his former team, Darvish owns a 1.33 ERA.

"Honestly, I think the stuff Darvish had tonight, the lanes he was pitching in, the slider, the cutter, I mean, I just don’t see him not dominating any Major League lineup tonight with the stuff that he had,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. “We’ve seen him before, but it was really good. He’s a strikeout pitcher, and he certainly had his way with us.”

Darvish has been every bit the ace the Padres hoped he’d be when they landed him in a seven-player blockbuster deal with the Cubs in December. Across 15 starts, he owns a 2.50 ERA and a 0.92 WHIP. The Padres have won 12 of those outings.

After the game, Darvish was asked about how he’s evolved into the role of ace, and he did his best to swat that question aside. He might be the elder statesman on staff. But it’s a team sport, he said, and he doesn’t need a pedestal among his peers.

“Even now, I don’t really necessarily consider myself as an ace,” Darvish said -- and believe it or not, he said so earnestly, perhaps the only person within the entire sport who actually feels that way.