SAN DIEGO – On December 29, when the final pieces fell into place on a seven-player blockbuster that sent Yu Darvish and Victor Caratini to San Diego, it marked a statement of emphatic intent by Padres general manager AJ Preller.
He had already bought the left ace Blake Snell – earlier that day. But Preller is not done. He wanted more high-level pitching talent for his rotation and wanted the depth behind the board. So Preller sent five players to the Cubs for Darvish and Caratini in a deal that sent shockwaves throughout the sport.
At the time, parents probably imagined nights like this.
Darvish dominated six innings, allowing a one-run three-run, while the Padres defeated the Giants, 3-1, on Tuesday night at Petco Park – an important win, too, with San Diego losing by a loss and a loss. injury to Fernando Tatis Jr. Caratini, Darvish’s favorite batman, easily supported the effort, as Darvish mixed eight different pitches to eliminate seven Giants before being eliminated after 89 pitches.
Then – and maybe the parents didn’t consider this part – Caratini won the game with his bat.
The newest catcher in San Diego raised an imposing two-run home run right inside the right field foul post, putting Padres in the top two. He stepped with his left foot on the home plate and retreated into the hole at first base, where he made sure Darvish was following him.
“Every time he hits a run, he comes to me with that grin,” Darvish joked afterwards. “I do not like that. … But it was good for the team, so I think that makes it OK. ”
This is the playful nature of the friendship that Darvish and Caratini built in their years working together in Chicago. It hasn’t changed since they arrived in San Diego.
Asked about Darvish’s two lines of over 100 km / h, as a hitter, on Tuesday night, Caratini said (with the straightest of the straight faces): “I learned a lot, because it’s a very bad hit. A really bad beater. ”
Jabs and beards aside, Darvish and Caratini click clearly. Caratini has now stopped 28 consecutive Darvish starts and mastered the signs for all 11 Darvish pitches. They combined for an ERA of 2.87 as a battery, and Caratini was behind the food last season, when Darvish made a serious push for the National League Cy Young Award, finishing in second place.
“They’re both on the same page and they both trust each other a lot,” said manager Jayce Tingler. “They understand their game plan and think together.”
Caratini also attributed his work to Darvish for making him a better rounded catcher.
“Being behind the plate in recent years has helped me a lot,” Caratini said. “I need to know how his pitches move. I need to know how each of them moves. I need to know how he’s going to throw them.
“Each of these lands is good enough to take anyone out. So if he wants to throw different people differently, I have to be on top. It was a good experience for me and it really helped me. ”
Tuesday marked something of the victory of the statement for Padri. No, they don’t have Tatis, and no, I’m not sure when they’ll return it. (Although they received some positive news that Tuesday afternoon, with the news that he is not heading for surgery.) This is still arguably one of the sport’s most talented lists – even without its most electrifying presence. .
In 2019, when his parents lost Tatis for the season due to a back condition, they flew, losing 29 of 44 to finish the season in last place in the NL West. On Tuesday, right-hander Wil Myers quickly provided a reminder:
“This is not the 2019 team,” he said. “This is the team from 2021 that is very good.”
At the end of December – with two successes in a few hours – Preller made sure of that.