Yu Darvish’s nightmare World Series came to a miserable end as the Japanese pitcher fluffed his lines once more to send the Los Angeles Dodgers slumping to defeat against the Houston Astros in their game-seven decider.
Darvish — who had been yanked inside two innings after a brutal pummelling in game three — once again was hammered out of the contest after an early onslaught.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts pulled Darvish after 1 2/3 innings after he was once again manhandled by the Astros batting line-up.
All of Houston’s runs in Wednesday’s 5-1 victory at Dodger Stadium came from Darvish’s disastrous spell on the mound.
“This pain is going to stay in me for a while,” a downcast Darvish said through a translator. “I’ve just got to learn from it and just go from there.”
Darvish’s series had been overshadowed by the ugly controversy involving Astros slugger Yuli Gurriel, who mocked Darvish with a racist slant-eyes gesture after bludgeoning him for a home run in game three.
Gurriel later escaped sanction for this World Series, with Major League Baseball electing to impose a five-game suspension at the start of the 2018 campaign.
Darvish had sought to move on from the controversy, clearly uncomfortable when asked questions about the affair when he appeared before reporters on Tuesday.
However, the controversy had obscured the mauling inflicted on Darvish in his brutal manhandling by the Astros batters on Friday.
On Wednesday, the Japanese right-hander’s frailties were laid bare once again with another fragile performance that ultimately handed Houston a lead they would never surrender.
Leadoff Astros hitter George Springer was the first to land a blow, hitting Darvish for an early double to get Houston off to a confident start.
Soon afterwards, Darvish was slow to react on Alex Bregman’s single, ambling to first base. When Cody Bellinger’s awkward throw went behind Darvish, Springer rounded the bases to score.

Roberts stumped
Bregman would later score to put Houston 2-0 up after the first inning.
It got worse for Darvish in the second, walking Brian McCann before conceding a double to Marwin Gonzalez.
McCann then scored to put Houston 3-0 up before Springer stepped up to pile on the agony, blasting a two-run homer that brought Gonzalez home and made it 5-0.
At that point, Roberts had seen enough, pulling Darvish after less than two innings for the second straight game.
Darvish, who moved to the Dodgers in July in a blockbuster trade from the Texas Rangers, said he had rediscovered his passion for baseball in California.
“Since I came to Major League Baseball, like last three years, I’ve been struggling to re-find my passion for the baseball,” Darvish said. “And then I came here and I found it again.
“I would like to come back in the World Series and I want to pitch better. From this time’s outing, I just want to come back and pitch better. It’s tough, but personally I want to come back to the Dodgers.”
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, meanwhile, was at a loss to explain Darvish’s miserable form in his two World Series appearances.
“I know he wanted the baseball. I know he was prepared. I just can’t explain the results. I really can’t,” Roberts said.
The Dodgers skipper also dismissed suggestions that he could have opted for another starting pitcher. “Yu has been one of our top three starters all year or since we acquired him. He had a bad one in Houston. There’s always going to be second-guessing. We felt good with Yu starting the game.”