LOS ANGELES — Asked about the prospect of facing Shohei Ohtani during the superstar’s heater, Yu Darvish deflected on the eve of his first start of the postseason. He was preparing to face all nine Dodgers hitters, not just the greatest hitter on the planet. It was a sound strategy.

Yu Darvish put on a pitching masterclass to shut down Shohei Ohtani as the San Diego Padres thrashed the Los Angeles Dodgers 10-2 to claim an emphatic series-leveling victory on Sunday.The win leaves the Padres in pole position to claim victory as the best-of-five series heads to San Diego for games three and four on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Ohtani has officially arrived in October, as have the Dodgers. They rallied twice from early deficits, survived another implosion from a starting pitcher in the postseason and, with a 7-5 win in Game 1 of the National League Division Series against the San Diego Padres, gave themselves life.