The Padres named Darvish their starting pitcher for the April 7 season opener in Arizona.

EDGE Analysis

Darvish and Joe Musgrove were in the mix to take the mound Opening Day, but Darvish will ultimately get the nod after allowing a run on five hits and no walks while striking out 10 in seven innings across his first two spring starts. After a career year with the Cubs in 2020, the right-hander struggled during his first season with the Padres, finishing the 2021 campaign with a 4.22 ERA and 1.09 WHIP in 166.1 innings across 30 starts.

Padres manager Bob Melvin said Tuesday that either Darvish or Joe Musgrove will start Opening Day against the Braves, Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

EDGE Analysis

Darvish and Musgrove were San Diego's top starters last season, though back and hip issues contributed to a rough second half for Darvish. The veteran right-hander finished the campaign with a 4.22 ERA, yet his 1.09 WHIP was his best mark in a non-shortened season since 2013. Darvish is 35 years old, but he still has excellent strikeout stuff and could rebound from his post-July numbers last season if he can stay healthy.

Darvish said Tuesday that he worked on his mechanics during the offseason and that his hip has healed "nicely," Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

EDGE Analysis

Darvish had a fantastic start to his debut campaign with the Padres in 2021, posting a 2.44 ERA and 115:23 K:BB though his first 96 innings. Things fell apart after that, however, as he registered a 6.65 ERA from July 3 onward. His struggles were at least partly due to back and hip issues that affected him throughout the second half of the campaign, so it makes sense that his offseason mechanical alterations were intended to help place less stress on the lower back and hip area. Darvish was outstanding in 2020 and for the first half of 2021, so there's certainly the possibility of a bounce-back performance this season. However, fantasy managers should keep in mind that the veteran is 36 years old and that back and hip injuries tend to be tough to entirely shake.

Darvish (hip) was placed on the 10-day injured list Thursday.

EDGE Analysis

Darvish pitched Tuesday against the Dodgers and allowed two runs on five hits and four walks across four innings. Manager Jayce Tingler announced that outing was Darvish's final start of the season, though that is now official as Darvish hits the injured list. He concludes his season with a 4.22 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, and 199:44 K:BB across 166.1 innings.

Darvish (8-11) took the loss during Thursday's 2-1 defeat at the hands of the Dodgers, allowing two runs on five hits and four walks with six strikeouts in four innings.

EDGE Analysis

Before the game, manager Jayce Tingler announced Tuesday's start would be Darvish's final of 2021 and it ended up being a dud. Despite a reasonable two runs surrendered, the 35-year-old dealt with heavy traffic on the bases in each of the first three innings and escaped bases-loaded jams in the second and third with minimal damage. Darvish concludes his first campaign in San Diego with an 8-11 record in 30 starts, 166.1 innings, a 4.22 ERA, a 1.09 WHIP and a 199:44 K:BB in a largely disappointing season.

Manager Jayce Tingler said Darvish's start against the Dodgers on Tuesday is likely to be his final outing of the season, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.

EDGE Analysis

Darvish lines up to start the final game of the season on regular rest Sunday at San Francisco, but it appears the Padres will give him some extra rest to finish the season since they're already eliminated from the playoffs. Darvish has a 6.48 ERA across 25 frames in September, and he'll close out 2021 with a tough matchup against the Dodgers.

Darvish allowed four runs on three hits and three hits over 5.1 innings Thursday against San Francisco. He had seven strikeouts and did not factor in the decision.

EDGE Analysis

Darvish was staked to a 4-0 lead in the first inning but couldn't make it stick. He gave up a two-run homer to Mike Yastrzemski in the second inning and was charged with two more runs when Tim Hill served up a three-run homer to Austin Slater in the sixth immediately after relieving Darvish. Darvish has alternated two good starts with three poor ones during his five September appearances, putting up a 6.48 ERA across 25 innings in that stretch.

Darvish fired seven scoreless innings on three hits and one walk while striking out nine in the loss to the Cardinals on Saturday. He did not factor into the decision.

EDGE Analysis

Despite Darvish firing seven shutout innings, the Padres couldn't come up with the win. He surrendered just one extra-base hit, which was a Matt Carpenter double. It was a great bounce-back performance off of his last start, where he gave up eight runs over four innings. The 34-year-old has a 4.13 ERA and 1.06 WHIP with a 10.7 K/9 over 157 innings this season.

Darvish (8-10) allowed eight runs on six hits and three walks over four innings Monday, striking out three and taking a loss against the Giants.

EDGE Analysis

Nearly all of the damage against Darvish came via the long ball as he coughed up four homers in the ugly outing. Five of the runs came in the first inning, including a three-run shot by Evan Longoria. The veteran righty then yielded a pair of home runs in the fourth. It was the first time he's given up multiple homers in a start since July 31 and he's allowed at least four runs in six of his last eight appearances. Darvish's ERA is up to 4.32 with a 177:36 K:BB through 150 innings. He's lined up to take the mound in St. Louis this weekend.

Darvish (8-9) earned the win over the Angels on Wednesday, pitching six innings and allowing one run on three hits and one walk while striking out seven.

EDGE Analysis

Darvish entered the contest with a 7.57 ERA over his past nine starts, but he was able to push those struggles aside and hold Los Angeles to a single run over six frames. That helped him earn his first win since June 21 and snap a string of 10 straight starts without a victory. The right-hander will look to carry the momentum into his next start, which is likely to come at San Francisco early next week.