Yu Darvish, Game 1 Starter? Why Not?

NEW YORK -- The Chicago Cubs have a three-time World Series winner in their rotation in Jon Lester. They have a former World Series MVP in their rotation in Cole Hamels. They have an NLCS clinching and World Series clinching starter in their rotation in Kyle Hendricks. And yet, the Cubs' Game 1 starter for the playoffs, as things stand right now, has to be Yu Darvish.

The same Darvish who infamously melted down at home in Game 7 of the 2017 World Series. The same Darvish who signed a massive six-year contract with Chicago and made just a handful of starts in 2018 before missing the rest of the year due to injury. The same Darvish who started 2019 slowly, much to the ire of Cubs' fans.

Yes, that same Darvish has been absolutely sensational since the All-Star break and deserves to open the playoffs for the Cubs.

At the All-Star break, Darvish sported a 5.01 ERA. Five Point Zero One. That's not a typo.

Since the All-Star break, this is what Darvish has done since:

55.1 IP over nine starts, he's lowered his ERA by 0.76 runs, and he's delivered just one 'clunker'. He just shut down a hot lineup in New York tonight, giving up just a home run to rookie sensation Pete Alonso over eight innings. And he's walked just one hitter over his last six starts. Total. That's absurd.

While he's given up a number of home runs lately, they're largely all solo homers because he's attacking the zone with a fastball he can trust. And when his fastball is going for strikes, his other pitchers are that much better and generating the type of chase rate we know he's capable of generating.

He's been the Cubs' ace in the second half and seems to be getting stronger as the year goes on. While the rest of the rotation has a large variance between home and road starts, Darvish's performances have been more even recently.

Things can certainly change between now and the end of the year, and the Cubs' spot in the postseason is not guaranteed by any means. But if they get there, the Cubs have to consider him, strongly, to open it for them on the mound. He's earned it. And wouldn't that be a hell of a redemption story?