The stadium gates were still closed and the seats still empty. As Yu Darvish stretched on the right field turf, he exchanged laughs with Kenta Maeda. The conversation lasted about 10 minutes, after which Darvish slipped into the nearby bullpen and returned to the visiting clubhouse through a back passageway.
From the time Darvish signed with the Chicago Cubs, he counted down to this week with a measure of dread. Never did he imagine his return to Dodger Stadium would be this calm.
“I wondered the entire time, ‘What’s going to happen if I pitch in L.