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PHOENIX – It took some survival skills in the first run and a five-point lead in the fifth inning. And just like that, Yu Darvish joined the party with the rest of the rotation.
"It was not my best, but after the third, I felt very good," said Darvish, who survived hard work in the first two innings to tie his career record, with six innings in a 9-1 win against Diamondbacks on Saturday night at Chase Field.
He threw 56 shots in the first two innings and put five base men – including three walks and a hitter – but did not concede a point until the sixth inning. He has just won his third victory since signing
A $ 126 million deal before last season.
"From the third inning, he just crossed," said rookie rookie Taylor Davis, who made his third career start. "It's the league Yu saw and the Yu who hopefully will see the rest of his career."
Until the Cubs gave him a 5-0 lead in the third set – three points from the first of David Bote's two runs – Darvish struggled to get the lead and pace.
"He's just started to find the strike zone," said coach Joe Maddon, who before the match had been talking about waiting for Darvish to "return this switch" during his season.
That happened after the big third, when he came away with a throw of 13 shots.
"Historically, he is a very good leader," said Maddon. "He's just started attacking the strike zone."
Even after a first game followed by a walk in the sixth inning, Maddon said, "I wanted to see if he could understand this sixth run because I knew it would be of benefit to us next."
Darvish (2-3) pulled out the next three batters and finished with his highest total in the standings (110) since June 7, 2017, as the Cubs took a two-game skid with a 10th win in 14 games. Days off will give him extra rest before his next departure.
Darvish, who spent most of last season on the list of injured with elbow problems, said he considered Saturday a turning point. "Especially the last four rounds," he said. "It was a feeling that I had not had my last five starts."
Leaving the mound in each of his last three innings, he received more and more applause from "Yuuuuuuu" among a crowd full of Cubs fans.
If this seems to mark the turning point that he and his teammates seem to think, it could be a disproportionate difference maker this season for a team that has already rebounded after a slow start thanks to its rotation. Including Saturday, six starters have a collective total of 2.30 ERA in the last 14 games.
As Darvish warms up?
"Be careful," said Bote, whose first multi-client game produced five RBIs. "Sometimes you just have to see the good guy, like a basketball shooter when he sees the first guy in."
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NOTES left-handed Mike Montgomery (Lat) saw his early re-education for the minor leagues pushed back to Sunday when the AAA Iowa class was cleared.
– David Bote was in the middle of a brief depollution incident on a bench, when he was hit by a seventh throw. He briefly thought about climbing "but thinks better."
– Third Base Coach Brian Butterfield took a day off because he was sick.
The three-point Bote circuit in the third.
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