22 games behind the Dodgers in the regular season: ‘San Diego is great for the franchise’
■ Padres 5-3 Dodgers (Regional series, 16th Japan time, San Diego)
The Padres, which Yu Darvish belongs to, won the fourth game of the district series against the Dodgers on the 15th (16th Japan time). With a match record of 3 wins and 1 loss, he decided to advance to the league championship series for the first time in 24 years since 1998. Darvish said with a smile, “I feel great because I won against the strongest Dodgers.”
They beat the Dodgers, who were 22 games behind them in the regular season. The 22 wins difference was the second historic upset after the 1906 White Sox beat the Cubs by 23 in the World Series. After the match, Darvish smiled during the champagne fight.
Q: I think it’s great that you won against the Dodgers.
“It’s really big, I’m happy, but as I always say, it’s a great thing for San Diego and for this team, so I’m really happy.”
— You won at home and decided to break through the district series.
“Because I was able to win against the Dodgers and celebrate in front of this many fans.
――For the league championship series.
“As usual, I would like to keep things calm without going too high.”