SAN DIEGO: On Dec. 29, when the final pieces fell into place in a seven-player blockbuster that sent Yu Darvish and Victor Caratini to San Diego, he marked an emphatic statement of intent from Padres CEO AJ Preller .
He had already acquired left ace Blake Snell that same day. But Preller was not finished. He wanted more high-level throwing talent for his rotation and wanted depth behind the plate. So Preller sent five players to the Cubs for Darvish and Caratini in a deal that sent shock waves across the sport.
At the time, the Fathers probably imagined nights like this.
Darvish was dominant in six innings, allowing only one run in three hits when the Padres beat the Giants, 3-1 on Tuesday night at Petco Park, a major victory as well, with San Diego falling to consecutive defeats and an injury to Fernando Tatis Jr. Caratini, Darvish’s favorite amateur teammate, backed the effort with ease, as Darvish mixed eight different pitches to eliminate seven giants before being eliminated after 89 pitches.
Then, and maybe the Padres didn’t think that part, Caratini won the game with his bat.
The new San Diego receiver launched an impressive two-run run inside the right post from the right field, putting the Padres in the lead. He stepped on the left plate with his left foot and retreated to the excavation of first base, where he made sure Darvish was vigilant.
“Every time he plays a home run, he comes with me with that smile,” Darvish joked afterwards. “I do not like this very much. … But it was good for the team, so I think that does it well. “
This is the playful nature of the friendship that Darvish and Caratini built during their years working together in Chicago. It hasn’t changed since they arrived in San Diego.
Asked about Darvish’s two 100km / h line-ups as a batsman on Tuesday night, Caratini said (with a straight face): “I learned a lot, because he’s a very bad batsman. really bad batsman “.
Left aside and punctured, Darvish and Caratini clearly click. Caratini has supported 28 consecutive Darvish starts now, and has dominated the signs for Darvish’s 11 pitches. They have combined with an ERA of 2.87 as a drummer, and Caratini was behind the plate last season when Darvish seriously pushed for the National League’s Cy Young Award, finishing second.
“They’re both on the same page and they both have a lot of trust in each other,” manager Jayce Tingler said. “They understand their game plan and they’re thinking together.”
Caratini also credited his work with Darvish for making him a more complete collector.
“Being behind the plate for the last few years has helped me a lot,” Caratini said. “I need to know how their launches move. I need to know how each of them moves. I need to know how he will throw them.
“Each of these shots is good enough to take anyone. So if you want to throw them differently to different people, I have to be on top. It has been a good experience for me and it has helped me a lot ”.
Tuesday was a declarative victory for the Fathers. No, they don’t have Tatis and, no, they don’t know when they will have him again. (Although they received positive news that Tuesday afternoon with the news that he is not heading for surgery.) This is arguably one of the most talented lists in the sport, even without the its more electric presence.
In 2019, when the Padres lost Tatis for the season due to a back illness, they failed and lost 29 of 44 to finish the season in last place in the NL West. On Tuesday, right-hander Wil Myers was quick to recall:
“This is not the 2019 team,” he said. “This is the 2021 team that is doing very well.”
At the end of December, with two blockbusters in a few hours, Preller was absolutely assured.