Monday, in his 2025 debut, the broad-shouldered, fifth-year Padre showed enough fastball to shorten reaction times and play up his other pitches. The best age-and-workload comparison to Darvish is Clayton Kershaw, his friend and former Dodgers teammate.

San Diego Padres All-Star right-handed starting pitcher Yu Darvish comments on his season debut following his elbow injury.

San Diego Padres right-hander Yu Darvish made his season debut on Monday against the Arizona Diamondbacks ( GameTracker ). Darvish, 38, had been sidelined by right elbow inflammation.