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AP Padres starter Yu Darvish hands the ball to manager Bob Melvin as he is taken out of the game in the third inning on Sunday.
AP
11:30 JST, May 29, 2023
NEW YORK (AP) — Anthony Rizzo hit a go-ahead RBI single in New York’s seven-run third inning before injuring his neck on a pickoff play as the Yankees knocked out Yu Darvish early and beat the San Diego Padres 10-7 on Sunday.
Rizzo was injured when Kyle Higashioka picked off Fernando Tatis Jr. to end the sixth. As the first baseman leaned back to apply the tag, Rizzo collided with Tatis. Rizzo stayed on the ground for a few minutes and headed back to the clubhouse as the Yankees batted.
The Yankees said Rizzo’s exit was for precautionary reasons. Rizzo underwent testing and should be able to play Monday.
“You kind of get concerned but he’s a tough guy,” New York slugger Aaron Judge said. “He’s going to have the record for the most hit by pitches in a couple of years. So I think he can handle a lot, so I’m looking forward to seeing how he’s doing.”
Jake Cronenworth hit a solo homer two batters in and Rougned Odor hit a two-run homer off Gerrit Cole (6-0), who allowed six runs (five earned) and four hits in six-plus innings.
Judge homered off Darvish in the first and hit a tying RBI single ahead of Rizzo’s hit. Willie Calhoun, who was traded from the Dodgers to Texas for Darvish in 2017, hit an RBI double to knock out the right-hander.
“Man, just a string of really good at-bats,” manager Aaron Boone said. “That’s not easy to do there. Usually if you can get to a pitcher like Yu Darvish, usually it’s a big homer.”
Harrison Bader and Higashioka committed throwing errors that allowed Jose Azocar to score on his own RBI single in the second before contributing as New York matched its biggest inning this year.
“I think everybody’s a little upset at themselves and made a couple of bad mistakes on defense that shouldn’t have happened, especially when you got your ace on the mound,” Judge said. “Little things like that can’t happen against a good team like this, they’re going to capitalize. I think everybody kind of stepped up and let’s answer back here.”
Bader beat out a potential double play grounder to score Judge and scored on Calhoun’s hit that knocked out Darvish after stealing second. Higashioka doubled twice in the lengthy inning and hit an RBI double after scoring on rookie Anthony Volpe’s single.
Bader homered and Higashioka had an RBI single in the eighth.
Isiah Kiner-Falefa, who got the game-ending hit in the 10th Saturday, also had an RBI single.
“The guys picked me up when I tried to throw it in the second deck,” Higashioka said.
Darvish (3-4) allowed a season-high seven runs and seven hits in 2⅔ innings in his first start against the Yankees in nearly six years. He had allowed seven runs in his first six career starts against New York.
“I thought I was pretty good for the first two innings,” Darvish said through a translator. “Obviously the third inning, maybe some of the ground balls found some holes through the defenders. Some missed locations and them taking advantage of that.”
It was Darvish’s first outing of less than five innings since lasting 1⅔ innings at San Francisco on April 12, 2022, snapping a 37-start streak — the second-longest of his career.
“It seemed like they were on his spin, on his heater when he threw it,” San Diego manager Bob Melvin said. “Just one of those days they were looking for pitches and got them and maybe not his best as far as location.”
