Welcome to The Opener, where every weekday morning during the regular season you’ll get a fresh, topical column to start your day from one of SI.com’s MLB writers.
SAN DIEGO — On the precipice of disaster, Yu Darvish knew just what to do to save his start Saturday night. He would spin his way out of trouble. With the bases loaded, two outs and a full count to Mookie Betts of the Dodgers in the second inning, the Padres ace broke off an 88-mph cutter. Betts swung and missed. Starting with that pitch, Darvish threw only eight fastballs among his final 40 pitches.