Padres pregame: Shohei Ohtani (back) not in lineup to face Yu Darvish

Yu Darvish spent a good deal of time on Saturday afternoon talking with Shohei Ohtani off to the side of the Padres’ dugout as the Japanese media aimed cameras of all sorts at the two icons.

There’s a good chance that’s all that Darvish sees of his fellow countryman these weekend, at least on the diamond.

Ohtani’s back tightened up on him Saturday night, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters, leading to his replacement as a pinch-hitter in the ninth inning. Hours later, Ohtani is out of the lineup for the rubber match at Petco Park as the Dodgers will use catcher Will Smith as their designated hitter and give Austin Barnes the start behind the plate.

To date, the Padres lead the season series 4-3, with their next meeting not until July 30-31 at Petco Park.

Sunday’s Mother’s Day matchup starts at 1:10 p.m. and not having a Darvish-Ohani matchup means the game likely loses some of its allure back in Japan.

After all, Darvish and Ohtani, for all their years together in the majors, have matched up just twice, both this year (in the Seoul Series and last month at Dodger Stadium).

Darvish has the edge, too, striking out Ohtani twice and allowing just one hit, a single, in five plate appearances.

As for the Padres lineup, it is back to full strength as first baseman Jake Cronenworth, catcher Luis Campusano and center fielder Jackson Merrill are back in the lineup to face right-hander Walker Buehler and Manny Machado is at third base.

That leaves the designated hitter job to Luis Arraez, whose eighth-inning single on Saturday extended his on-base streak to 18 games, the second longest in the majors behind the Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman.

Sunday’s pitching matchup

Dodgers RHP Walker Buehler (0-0, 6.75 ERA)

The Tommy John patient allowed three runs on six hits but did not walk a batter in four innings in his first start since 2022. Buehler has a 1.49 ERA in 10 regular-season starts against Padres (6-0), although he’s allowed three homers to Fernando Tatis Jr., and he allowed one run while striking out eight in four innings in his 2020 NLDS start against the Padres.

Here is Buehler’s history with current Padres:

(Baseball-reference.com)

Padres RHP Yu Darvish (2-1, 2.94 ERA)

He has struck out eight against one walk over 10 shutout innings since returning from the injured list (neck). Darvish has a 2.45 ERA in 14 career starts against the Dodgers, which includes two this season (8⅔ IP, 3.12 ERA, 5 BBs, 5 Ks).

Here’s how Darvish has fared against current Dodgers:

(Baseball-reference.com)