Los Angeles Dodgers: World Series villain makes first return to LA

For the first time since his now infamous Game 7 World Series start with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Yu Darvish will pitch at Dodger Stadium.

The last time we saw Yu Darvish on the mound at Dodger Stadium he was a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers. The last time we saw Darvish on the mound at Dodger Stadium he allowed five runs in one and two-thirds innings, which led to a 5-1 World Series defeat.

It was not entirely Darvish’s fault as the offense squandered plenty of opportunities, hitting 1-13 with runners in scoring position and stranding 10 men on base. However, Darvish does deserve a big part of the blame as he was responsible for two losses in the World Series, both of which deflated the Dodgers.

As a result, most of the fanbase now views Darvish as a villain. He did not say or do anything negative to the Dodgers other than being exceptionally bad for that one series. Fans don’t forget, though, and to this day people still think Clayton Kershaw should have started Game 7 because of his relief appearance.

Of course, hindsight is also 20/20 and it was the right call to start Darvish. That was the entire reason why the team traded for him and Kershaw was on short rest after a game in which he blew two three-run leads.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are nearly 20 months removed from that loss with another World Series loss under their belt. While those that were on 2017’s team certainly remember, the focus is and has been on winning it in 2019.

However, there is still going to be a bit of extra motivation facing a former Dodger. I doubt there are any hard feelings from the players themselves but they will definitely be looking to do to Darvish what the Houston Astros did.

As part of our Los Angeles Dodgers Beat the Streak series, here is who we think can get at least one base hit off of Darvish and the Chicago Cubs.

Jason’s pick (Current streak: 1): Cody Bellinger

Cody Bellinger was in a bit of a cold streak but broke out of that cold streak with a great game on Thursday in which he slugged two home runs. He followed that game with a 1-2 showing on Friday in which he was walked twice.

Bellinger has never faced Darvish in his career, which is similar to the rest of the Dodgers. In fact, the only Dodger hitter that was on the 2017 team with at-bats against Darvish is Enrique Hernandez, which came in 2014 when he was a member of the Houston Astros.

Darvish has not been great this year and battles with command and allowing home runs. Darvish has 44 walks in 72.1 innings pitched. Bellinger has shown much better plate discipline this season, which has resulted in his career-high numbers.

Bellinger is going to wait for a pitch to hit and you bet that Darvish is going to serve one up on a platter. I foresee Darvish hanging a 12-6 breaking ball in the zone for Bellinger to smash into the atmosphere for a home run.