LOS ANGELES — Yu Darvish tapped the “PS” patch on his uniform and then went to work on the way to an inspired performance.
Yet, try as he might, Darvish’s stellar outing in memory of late San Diego Padres owner Peter Seidler was not enough to overcome the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday night.
With the Padres’ offense in a slumber, the Dodgers pulled out a 2-0 victory in the deciding Game 5 of their NL Division Series. Less than a week after destiny seemed to point San Diego toward the next round, the Padres were headed home to ponder what happened and put together a plan for next season.
“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 after giving up two home runs among the three hits he allowed in 6 2/3 innings. “Unfortunately, the game went on as it did so there is some disappointment there.”
Seidler, who died in November at age 63, would have been proud. Yet, the mood in the Padres’ clubhouse after the final game of the season was one of unfulfillment for what could have been.
After a disappointing 2023, the Padres traded Juan Soto to the New York Yankees and elected not to re-sign NL Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell. Yet they were much improved behind right-hander Dylan Cease, who arrived from the Chicago White Sox.
Rookie center fielder Jackson Merrill fit in perfectly with the offensive-minded Padres, and Jurickson Profar had his best season in his 11th year in the big leagues. Fernando Tatis Jr., who missed all of 2022 with a wrist injury and a PED suspension, returned to All-Star form this year.
The Padres even got the best of the Dodgers to win the season series but could not finish off the NLDS as they lost the last two games. 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.”
Tatis hit two home runs in a Game 2 victory and another in a Game 3 win, but he couldn’t get the offense past the Dodgers 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.”
Darvish spoke quietly in the corner of the clubhouse afterward. He pitched well but there was one moment he will remember most.
“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.”
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