Yu Darvish used Anthony Rizzo’s walk-up song in tribute to former teammate

Rizzo threw his arms up in mock disgust as his walk-up song was jokingly used by Darvish.

After the Padres’ 3-1 loss to the Cubs — in which Darvish went seven innings and yielded three hits and two earned runs with eight strikeouts and two walks — the pitcher opened up about why he chose to troll-tribute Rizzo.

Specifically, Darvish explained how Rizzo was a valuable resource and a strong supporter, especially when his career with the Cubs got off to inauspicious start after signing a six-year, $126 million contract in February 2018.

“I used that song because it was Rizzo who kind of took care of me when things weren’t really working my way in Chicago,” Darvish said through his interpreter, via ESPN. “It was, in a way, to say ‘thank you’ to him. And obviously I have a good relationship with him.”

Darvish went on to reflect upon his time with the Cubs, during which he posted a 15-14 record with a 3.60 ERA.

“Looking back, I had some ups and downs in Chicago,” Darvish said. “Good times and bad times, looking in retrospect. But what I find is that the fans, the organization, and even the media members there — I had tremendous amount of support to get through my years there. So there’s a sense of, I guess, gratefulness there.”

As far as Rizzo is concerned when it came to Darvish’s prank, the Padres pitcher said it’s all good, to no surprise.

“We actually texted each other after the game, and I think he was pretty happy about it,” Darvish said, per NBC Chicago.