Yu Darvish 2023 Topps NOW #710

The sun was rising in Japan as Habikino-native Yu Darvish surpassed another national favorite. The San Diego Padres hurler came into Monday's game six strikeouts shy of becoming the all-time strikeouts leader for Japanese pitchers. With two outs in the sixth, Darvish went after Baltimore Orioles Ramón Urías with a fastball to punch him out. It was his career 1,919th strikeout, passing Hideo Nomo for the most among Japanese hurlers.