Right-hander Yu Darvish will take the mound on opening day for the second straight year, and the third time in his career, the San Diego Padres said Thursday.
Japan will have two opening day pitchers in the majors for the third time with Darvish facing the Arizona Diamondbacks on April 7 and Los Angeles Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani taking on the Houston Astros.
Last year, Darvish and Kenta Maeda of the Minnesota Twins opened the season for their clubs.
"That's not a difficult call," new Padres manager Bob Melvin said on choosing Darvish. "Not only does he know how to pitch and how to compete, he has a great understanding of what he needs to do and how to get better."
Darvish joined the Padres last year and had a stellar first half, earning himself his fifth career All-Star selection in his 10th big-league season.
But the 35-year-old lost seven consecutive decisions after the break as he hit the injured list twice, first with left hip inflammation in July and then with a lower back issue in August.
Ohtani made his first two-way start of the preseason on Thursday, allowing three runs over 3⅓ innings in his second start on the mound while going 1-for-3 with an RBI batting first.
"I'll prepare well over the remaining week to not put myself under too much pressure and give my best performance from the first game," said Ohtani after getting the win in his last pitching start of the spring.
The 27-year-old will concentrate on his batting duties for the rest of the preseason as he gears up to make his expected appearance both on the mound and at the plate against the Astros.
Ohtani will pitch on Opening Day for the first time in his five big-league seasons.