CINCINNATI _ Yu Darvish wants a performance at Wrigley Field similar to Wednesday's start, which he ranked as his best as a Cub.
And the significance of Darvish's next start _ scheduled for Monday night at Wrigley against the Phillies' Jake Arrieta _ wasn't lost on him.
"He's a legend in Chicago, for sure," Darvish said of Arrieta, whom he replaced in the Cubs rotation in 2018. "I respect that. I'm looking forward to facing him."
A successful outing might alleviate some of the frustration Cubs fans have felt since the team and Arrieta, the 2015 National League Cy Young Award winner, couldn't find common negotiating ground after the 2017 season. The Cubs signed Darvish to a six-year, $126 million contract in February 2018, and Arrieta agreed to a three-year, $75 million deal with the Phillies a month later. Darvish was limited to eight starts last season by right elbow surgery.
He hopes he can come close to duplicating Wednesday's effort, in which he struck out 11 and walked none while limiting the Reds to two runs in 5 1/3 innings of a 6-5, 10-inning Cubs loss.
"I really need it, a good start at Wrigley," said Darvish, who is 0-2 with a 6.38 ERA in four home starts this season.
"That's what I want. I always struggle on the home side."
Arrieta is 4-4 with a 4.02 ERA after a 5-2 loss Wednesday night to the Brewers.
"I need a base hit against him," Darvish quipped. "That's it, just one hit."
Darvish is looking forward to getting a firsthand view of Arrieta's sinker and cutter.
"They're really nasty, in the top five," Darvish said. "That means I can study his stuff and look forward to seeing him."
Darvish said his mission to pitch well at Wrigley isn't to prove a point to fans, who have alternated their chants of "Yu" with "boo," depending on his fortunes.
"If I'm trying to show something, I'm always going backwards," Darvish said. "That's (why) I want to be myself."
