Dodgers-Padres Game 5: Ready for a duel between Ohtani and Darvish?

San Diego Padres pitcher Yu Darvish delivers against the Dodgers in Game 2 of the NLDS on Sunday.

(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)

Aside from the three months he actually played for the team in 2017, Yu Darvish, the Padres' Game 5 starter, has spent most of his major league career tormenting the Dodgers.

In 15 regular season starts against them, Darvish has a 2.27 ERA (his second-lowest against a team, behind only Philadelphia) and 104 strikeouts in 91⅓ innings. He has won both postseason meetings with the Dodgers, including his seven-inning, one-run gem in Game 2 last weekend.

Although the 38-year-old no longer has the most dazzling skill set, his reputation for being a “smart” pitcher, as Ohtani put it on Thursday, remains.

In Game 2, Darvish recorded just three strikeouts but limited the Dodgers to three hits with his eight-pitch mix.

“Just ready to hit,” Roberts said of how the Dodgers can adjust in Game 5. “He doesn't back down, but if he throws his slider or curveball into the strike zone or makes a mistake with the fastball, we're ready to take a chance.” I feel like if we can put him under pressure early, we’ll be in a good position.”

One notable blemish on Darvish's resume: his 0-2 record in winner-take-all postseason games.

In his rookie season in 2012, Darvish was the losing pitcher in the American League wild card game with the Texas Rangers, despite giving up just three runs (two earned) in 6⅔ innings. And then, of course, there was his infamous Game 7 start for the Dodgers in the 2017 World Series, when he was rocked for five runs (four earned) by the Houston Astros in less than two innings.

Does that memory still haunt Darvish?

“Of course I remember that time,” he said Thursday. “But how many years ago was that? So… I basically don’t focus on that time. Plus, I’m wearing a different uniform right now.”