Padres' Yu Darvish continues progressing toward return from inflammation in his pitching elbow
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Padres right-hander Yu Darvish threw off a mound for a third straight day Wednesday as he continues to progress toward a return from inflammation in his pitching elbow that landed him on the injured list to start the season.
Manager Mike Shildt said Darvish would return to San Diego for another bullpen session Friday or Saturday and then the club would determine the next steps in his recovery.
'Came out of it feeling good, spoke with him yesterday after the game, he's very encouraged,' Shildt said. 'Came in earlier today and played catch. ... He got off the mound again yesterday so it's three days in a row off the mound with some throwing, with a bullpen sandwiched in between. So, recovering, still throwing well. He has a plan for another bullpen and then we'll go from there. All favorable and trending in a good place.'
The 38-year-old Darvish went on the injured list March 24 and would be pitching in the majors for his 13th season when he's back.
Darvish made a pair of spring training starts but was shut down after his second outing, during which he went four innings and threw 54 pitches against Kansas City on March 13.
Darvish is 110-88 with a 3.58 ERA over his big league career after pitching for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters in Japan's Pacific League from 2005-11. He had Tommy John surgery on March 17, 2015, and returned to a major league mound on May 28, 2016.
He had back, neck and elbow problems last season and was on the restricted list for personal reasons from early July to late August. Darvish won three of four starts in September and was 1-1 with a 1.98 ERA in two starts against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL Division Series.
Darvish came to the major leagues in 2012 after agreeing to a $56 million, six-year contract with the Texas Rangers. He was traded to the Dodgers in July 2017, became a free agent after the World Series and signed a $126 million, six-year deal with the Chicago Cubs. Darvish was dealt to San Diego after the 2020 season and in February 2023 agreed to a contract with the Padres that added $90 million guaranteed for a total of $108 million over six years.
His 2023 season ended in late August because of a bone spur in his right elbow.
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Washington Post
5 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Thornton, Burton, Billings have double-doubles as Valkyries beat Aces 95-68 to snap 4-game skid
SAN FRANCISCO — Kayla Thornton had 22 points and 11 rebounds, Veronica Burton and Monique Billings also had double-doubles and the Golden State Valkyries beat the Las Vegas Aces 95-68 on Saturday to snap a four-game losing streak. Burton added 14 points, a career-high 12 assists and seven rebounds, while Billings finished with 14 points, 11 rebounds, two steals and two blocks. Cecilia Zandalasini scored a career-high 18 points for Golden State and Kate Martin had 12 for the expansion Valkyries, who set a franchise record for points in a game. Thornton found Martin for a layup with a minute left in the first quarter to give the Valkyries the lead for good and Thornton's 3-pointer with 3:47 remaining in the second made it 31-21. Las Vegas trailed by double figures the rest of the way. The Valkyries (3-5) scored more points (34) in the second quarter than the Aces, who shot 29% (9 of 31) from the field in the first half, had at halftime. Martin's deep pull-up 3-pointer at the buzzer gave Golden State a 49-28 lead at the intermission. A'ja Wilson scored 17 for Las Vegas (4-3) and Chelsea Gray had 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting. Rookie Aaliyah Nye hit three 3-pointers and finished with a season-high 13 points, her second consecutive game in double figures. The Aces finished shooting 36% (22 of 62) and made 6 of 25 (24%) from 3-point range. Golden State heads south to play the Los Angeles Sparks on Monday. The Aces return home to take on Los Angeles on Wednesday. ___ AP WNBA:
Associated Press
9 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Turkey rallies for 2-1 win in friendly against US, which loses 3rd straight under Pochettino
EAST HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Turkey took advantage of a sloppy defense to beat the United States 2-1 in a rainy friendly on Saturday, dealing the Americans their third straight loss as Arda Güler and Kerem Aktürkoğlu scored in a 2-minute, 20-second span midway through the first half. Jack McGlynn scored 59 seconds in for the U.S., which was missing many regulars as coach Mauricio Pochettino revamped his roster following a dismal performance at the CONCACAF Nations League final four in March. With a year to go before co-hosting the World Cup, the U.S. plays Switzerland on Tuesday at Nashville, Tennessee, in another friendly, then opens the CONCACAF Gold Cup against Trinidad and Tobago on June 15. The Americans dropped to 5-4 under Pochettino, who took over after first-round elimination last year's Copa America led the U.S. Soccer Federation to fire coach Gregg Berhalter. They have lost three straight for the second time in a year. Pochettino changed eight starters from the Nations League loss to Canada in March, keeping only left back Max Arfsten, winger Diego Luna and forward Patrick Agyemang. Defender Alex Freeman, a 20-year-old son of former NFL All-Pro receiver Antonio Freeman, started in his U.S. debut. Matt Freese, a starter at Major League Soccer's New York City, made his debut in goal. Matt Turner, the usual starter since 2022, didn't play for Crystal Palace after March 1. McGlynn scored when he ran onto a pass from Malik Tilman, took several touches, cut inside and curled a left-footed shot from just outside the penalty area inside the far post for his second goal in five international appearances. It was the earliest U.S. goal since Shaq Moore scored 20 seconds in against Canada during the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup. Turkey tied it in the 24th minute when Freese tapped the ball to Johnny Cardoso, whose pass ricocheted off a leg and past Freese for Güler's fifth international goal. Then in the 27th, Miles Robinson tried to clear Oğuz Aydın's shot and the ball went to Aktürkoğlu, who one-timed a bouncing shot past Freese for his 12th international goal and sixth in eight games. Turkey goalkeeper Berke Özer also made his international debut. Preparing for the start of its World Cup qualifying campaign in September, Turkey has six wins, one loss and one draw in its last eight games. ___ AP soccer:
New York Times
18 minutes ago
- New York Times
Pacers keep betting on themselves this season — and keep winning
OKLAHOMA CITY — The phones in Indiana remained quiet through the first week of February. The Pacers knew what they had, even if the rest of the basketball world hadn't caught on yet. The future of the team could have been up in the air. After a 10-15 start to the season, the Pacers were on fire, but a January hot streak sparked versus a mostly cushy schedule. For months, they had heard about how their Eastern Conference finals run the previous spring was fluke-ish, a product of injuries to the rest of the NBA. The organization stared at a daunting financial situation, by its standards, for the 2025-26 season. Advertisement The Pacers could have tried to save money. They could have deemed themselves good but not good enough to topple the three teams that stood far ahead of them in the East at the time of the trade deadline. They could have angled more toward the future. But they knew what they had, even if others doubted how high they could climb. No matter how Indiana's season ends, whether a 1-0 NBA Finals lead turns into the first non-ABA title in franchise history or trends in the opposite direction, this will be the legacy of the 2025 Pacers. At every level of the organization — in the locker room, on the coaching staff, in the front office — they have believed they are good enough. They lose 15 of 25 to begin the season, and they bounce back. They fall down big seemingly without enough time remaining to make a comeback, and they win a first-round playoff game. Then they do the same in Round 2. And again in Round 3. And one more time to kick off the finals. Tyrese Haliburton's new Pumas, which he jokingly credited for his dagger to clinch Game 1 on Thursday, need an adventurous win probability chart stamped onto them, the type with a steep upward slope at the very end, the symbol of this Pacers season. The Pacers, no matter the situation, continue to bet on themselves. And they continue to prove themselves correct. Teams swooned over center Myles Turner leading into the trade deadline. Turner is the rare rim-protecting 3-point marksman, an intuitive fit on any roster, someone who could help on both sides of the ball without disrupting a group's ecosystem. The 29-year-old will be a free agent this summer. If the Pacers pay him even the low end of his market value without making any other edits to the roster, they will go into the luxury tax for the first time since 2005. This would be new. But the Pacers refused to engage with other front offices on Turner. They believed they were good enough to make a run impressive enough to justify whatever expenses could be next. Advertisement Other front offices checked in on Andrew Nembhard, the man who glitzed Shai Gilgeous-Alexander out of his sneakers on a stepback 3-pointer late in Game 1. The Pacers were better with Nembhard on the court all season, and their turnaround coincided with his return from injury in early December. Because of his contract structure, which includes a low salary this year that jumps to $18 million in 2025-26, dealing him could have presented one way to get off long-term money. But Indiana swatted away any mention of his name. Nembhard was too important. And the Pacers, they believed, were not frauds. Far from it. They were not trading Nembhard. They weren't trading Turner. They weren't depleting their depth, one of the main catalysts of their magical spring. They opted to hold on to Obi Toppin, another player on an eight-figure salary they could have sent elsewhere for financial reasons. All Toppin has done to justify the move — or lack thereof — is race for transition buckets and drain 3-pointers. He nailed five during the first game of the finals. The narrative of both teams in the finals, the Pacers and the Oklahoma City Thunder, has surrounded trades. The Pacers traded for Haliburton in what will go down as an all-time heist. They were clever enough to use 2023 cap space to sign Bruce Brown to an intentionally bloated contract, then use that large salary to flip Brown for Pascal Siakam, another dandy of an exchange. They identified Aaron Nesmith in the deal that sent Malcolm Brogdon to Boston and used space to absorb Toppin without giving up any players or consequential draft picks. The Thunder are built on trades, too. They acquired Gilgeous-Alexander in the Paul George deal. They selected Jalen Williams with a draft pick they got in the same trade. They flipped Josh Giddey for defensive menace Alex Caruso. They have stockpiled draft picks like no franchise ever. Advertisement But sometimes, the best moves are ones of omission. Sometimes, the smartest trades are the ones organizations choose not to make. The Thunder, for example, could have messed with their core midseason to add a veteran, such as Brooklyn Nets sharpshooter Cam Johnson. They opted not to, banking on continuity and a close-knit locker room, which they could ride to the end of the season. The Pacers have the same band together, too, a similar squad to the one that went to the conference finals last season, but one with even more familiarity. The names might be the same, but this is a better team than it was a year ago. It's more physical defensively. Nembhard and Nesmith engulf perimeter threats. And the more time guys have spent together, the more telepathy has reigned supreme, whether on their blink-of-an-eye fast breaks, their constant cutting or their hot-potato ball movement. The front office believed in the players. And the players had their backs. 'You come into the year with all the talk around how (going to the Eastern Conference finals) was a fluke,' Haliburton said. 'You have an unsuccessful first couple months, and now it's easy for everyone to clown you and talk about you in a negative way. And I think as a group we take everything personal as a group. It's not just me. It's everybody.' This is a spite run. The Pacers go down 14 with 2:51 to go, only for Nesmith to sink jumper after jumper and for them to win. They trail by 15 in the fourth quarter of a finals game and push the Thunder into paralysis. Nembhard shimmies into a 3. Haliburton lifts for victory. They start 10-15 and recognize life will be different once Nembhard returns — and once Haliburton, after a slow start to the season, forms into a one-man offense. They trek through the trade deadline insistent this year's team is cohesive enough to play deep into the spring, even as the conversation everywhere other than Indiana is about a supposedly guaranteed conference finals between the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers, whom the Pacers, of course, handled in only five games. The Pacers have trailed all year. It's deterred neither their players nor decision-makers. Now, they're receiving the payoff. (Photo of Myles Turner: William Purnell / Getty Images)
