New York

Yu Darvish Dominates in Dodgers Debut, Chase Utley Trolls New York

Yu Darvish threw seven shutout innings and the Los Angeles Dodgers dominated the New York Mets, 6-0, on Friday night at Citi Field.

How's that for a first impression?

Yu Darvish threw seven shutout innings and the Los Angeles Dodgers dominated the New York Mets, 6-0, on Friday night at Citi Field. 

Darvish (1-0) was making his first start in a Dodger uniform after he was acquired from the Texas Rangers on Monday in a last-second trade deadline deal.

The Japanese right-hander did not disappoint as he dazzled both Mets and Dodgers alike, striking out 10 batters, walking just one, while allowing only three hits over seven shutout innings.

"I was really worried [before the game] because the Dodgers have such great pitchers and I didn't want to pitch badly in my first outing," Darvish said after the game. "I just went with the plan and it went well. I'm just glad I pitched well today."

According to ESPN Stats & Info, Darvish is the first Dodger since 1900 with at least 10 strikeouts and one walk of less in his first start with team.

"It couldn't have went any better," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of Darvish's start. "Yu was excited to throw that first pitch. He was really enjoying the moment. Just to see him up close and personal and watch him compete was good to see."

Chris Taylor made sure to give Darvish a lead before he even took the mound when he started the game with a leadoff homer to left-center.

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Taylor finished the game 2-for-3 with a walk and three runs scored and has 32 hits since the All-Star break, the most in the National League.

Taylor is also sporting a .410 average since the break, the best batting average in the national league over that time. Overall, he is batting .314 on the season, good for the 10th best average in the National League.

Yasiel Puig followed Taylor's first inning homer with a long ball of his own in the second inning.

Puig crushed his career-high 20th home run of the season on an 84MPH curveball from Mets' ace Jacob deGrom.

DeGrom (12-5), took the loss, allowing three runs on five hits with three walks and eight strikeouts in five innings.

Chase Utley put the final nail in the New York coffin when smoked a 84MPH splitter from Mets' pitcher Josh Smoker.

The Mets fans booed Utley every time he came to the plate and have vilified the veteran second baseman ever since he broke the leg of Ruben Tejada in the 2015 NLDS series against the Mets.

Since the incident, Utley has done his best to troll the New York fans with his bat as he's homered in back-to-back seasons at Citi Field amongst a barrage of boos.

The Dodgers have won five straight against the Mets this season and are 21-10 against their NL East foe since the 2013 season.

The Dodgers have won 42 of their last 49 games, the best 49-game stretch since the New York Giants in 1912, a span of 105 years.

Los Angeles can break the 2013 team record of 42-8 for the best 50-game stretch in franchise history with a win on Saturday.

Up Next:

The reigning National League Pitcher of the Month for July will take the mound on Saturday as Rich Hill goes opposite RHP Seth Lugo for the Mets. First pitch is scheduled for 1:10PM PST.

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