Padres confirm Yu Darvish will open NLCS vs. Phillies

The San Diego Padres announced Sunday that right-hander Yu Darvish will start in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series on Tuesday against the visiting Philadelphia Phillies.

It will be the second time in three Padres playoff series that Darvish has started in the opener after kicking off San Diego's postseason run with an outing in the NL wild-card series.

On Oct. 7 against the New York Mets, Darvish gave up just one run over seven innings, setting up the Padres with a 1-0 series lead. San Diego advanced in three games, all of which were played at New York.

The Padres did not start Darvish in Game 1 of the NL Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers on short rest. He gave up three runs on seven hits over five innings in Game 2 on Wednesday as the Padres pulled out a 5-3 victory to even the series at a game each.

San Diego returned home to defeat the Dodgers in four games and advance to the club's first NLCS since 1998 when they eventually were swept in the World Series by the New York Yankees. Darvish would have pitched on short rest Sunday if there was a Game 5 of the NLDS.

Darvish, 36, was 16-8 with a 3.10 ERA in 30 starts during the regular season for the Padres. Over 10 career major league seasons, he is 95-75 with a 3.50 ERA over 242 starts for the Texas Rangers, Dodgers, Chicago Cubs and Padres.

A five-time All-Star, Darvis has finished second in the Cy Young Award voting twice: 2013 with the Rangers and 2020 with the Cubs.