Japanese pitcher Darvish Yu of the San Diego Padres went seven innings with only one run allowed to earn the win in Game 2 of the National League Division Series.
It was the fifth MLB postseason win for Darvish, tying the record for a Japanese pitcher held by Tanaka Masahiro, formerly of the New York Yankees.
Darvish achieved the feat in the second game of the best-of-five series at Dodger Stadium on Sunday. The Dodgers won the series opener on the previous day.
Game 2 featured a showdown between Darvish and Japanese star Ohtani Shohei.
Ohtani, the designated hitter, blasted a three-run homer in the previous game, but Darvish struck him out on a slider in the first inning.
In the third inning, Darvish again got the better of Ohtani, forcing him to hit a grounder to first for the out.
With the Padres leading 4-1 in the sixth inning, Darvish retired Ohtani in his third at-bat when he threw a slow curve that got him to ground out to the pitcher.
Darvish threw a total of 82 pitches over seven innings, allowing three hits, walking two and striking out three.
The Padres won Game 2 by a score of 10 to 2, evening the series at one game each. It was the 38-year-old Darvish’s first postseason win in two years.
Ohtani again struck out swinging at his fourth at bat, to finish the game with no hits.