Yu Darvish earned his first win of the season and 150th of his career in the majors and Japan, pitching six strong innings Sunday in the Chicago Cubs' 6-1 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.

Darvish (1-3) bounced back from a slow start to the season which saw him make seven starts without a win, putting him in the sights of critical local media who wondered whether he will live up to his hefty $126 million, six-year contract signed in the offseason.

"One is better than zero. I feel like the season has finally started for me," Darvish said.

On Sunday at the Great American Ball Park, Darvish needed 39 pitches to get three outs in the opening inning. After loading the bases, he allowed the Reds to get on the scoreboard first on an infield single by Scott Schebler.

But the 31-year-old right-hander made a mechanical adjustment after getting Alex Blandino to strike out, ending the second with improved fastball command. In his 94-pitch outing, he limited the damage to a run and two hits while striking out seven and walking three.

"If I had not done my best (until now) and results were bad I would be angry at myself. But I've given it 100 percent and I wasn't seeing results, so what can I do?" Darvish said.

Of his 150 wins, 57 were recorded in the majors and 93 with the Nippon Ham Fighters in Nippon Professional Baseball in the 2005-2011 seasons.