Japanese right-hander Yu Darvish will make his second career Opening Day start in the majors when he takes the mound next week against the Arizona Diamondbacks, San Diego Padres manager Jayce Tingler said Thursday.
Kenta Maeda is scheduled to start Opening Day for the Minnesota Twins, making it the second time that two Japanese pitchers get the nod for the prestigious assignment in Major League Baseball.
The last time it happened was in 2017, when Darvish and Masahiro Tanaka started for the Texas Rangers and New York Yankees, respectively.
"I didn't think I would be tabbed (as the Opening Day pitcher) at my age and I'm very honored," said the 34-year-old Darvish, who made his MLB debut in 2012 then missed the end of 2014, the entire 2015 season, and a part of 2016 due to arm issues.
Darvish, who finished as the runner-up in last year's National League Cy Young Award voting, posted an 8-3 record with a 2.01 ERA in 12 starts with the Chicago Cubs in 2020. The Cubs sent Darvish to the Padres in a seven-player trade in December.
The Padres will open the 2021 season at home against the Diamondbacks on Thursday, April 1.
