Yu Darvish of the San Diego Padres throws a pitch at Citi Field in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City, the US on October 7, 2022. Photo: AFP

Yu Darvish delivered a stellar pitching performance and San Diego sluggers smacked four home runs to power the Padres over the New York Mets 7-1 as the Major League Baseball playoffs began Friday.

Manny Machado, Josh Bell, Jurickson Profar and Trent Grisham blasted homers off devastated Mets ace Max Scherzer to give San Diego a 1-0 lead in MLB's best-of-three wildcard round of an expanded playoff system that features six clubs each from the American and National leagues.

"We trust the guys around us," Bell said. "This organization has done a good job building."

Darvish, a 36-year-old Japanese right-hander, scattered six hits and allowed only one run over seven innings, striking out four batters without issuing a walk.

Scherzer was the first MLB playoff starter since 1939 to surrender seven runs and four homers.

In other series openers Friday, Cleveland edged Tampa Bay 2-1 while Philadelphia, in the playoffs for the first time since 2011, scored six runs in the ninth inning to beat host St. Louis 6-3 and Seattle, in the playoffs for the first time since 2001, blanked host Toronto 4-0.

Cleveland or Tampa Bay will advance to an American League division series matchup against the New York Yankees while the Houston Astros await the Seattle-Toronto winner.

The Atlanta Braves - trying to become the first back-to-back World Series champions since the Yankees won three from 1998 to 2000 - and the Los Angeles Dodgers have first-round National League byes.

The Braves will meet Philadelphia or St. Louis while the Dodgers, whose 111 season triumphs led MLB, will face San Diego or the Mets.

At New York, Bell launched a two-run homer in the first inning and Grishman followed with a solo blast in the second for a 3-0 Padres lead.

In the fifth, South Korean Kim Ha-seong singled, took third on Austin Nola's double and both scored Profar's homer to right field.

After Machado added a solo homer two batters later, Scherzer was removed but the damage had been done, although the Mets avoided a shutout on Eduardo Escobar's fifth-inning homer.

At Cleveland, Jose Ramirez smacked a two-run homer in the sixth to lift the Guardians after the Rays seized a 1-0 lead on Dominican outfielder Jose Siri's solo homer.

Ramirez, a Dominican third baseman, delivered the decisive runs off a change-up pitch from Tampa Bay left-hander Shane McClanahan.

"That was my plan, just look for that change-up," Ramirez said. "He got me twice with the same pitch. It's a really good pitch. It really resembles a fastball."

"I was just sitting on that pitch and trying not to do too much, just put it on the opposing side of the field, and I was able to get a good contact."

At Toronto, the visiting Mariners took the lead in the first inning on a run-scoring double by Eugenio Suarez and Cal Raleigh's two-run homer. Venezuelan Suarez plated a final run in the fifth on a fielder's choice.

Dominican right-hander Luis Castillo pitched 7 1/3 shutout innings for Seattle, allowing six hits while striking out five.

"He was unbelievable," Suarez said. "I know how hard he's working. He made really good pitches."

It was only the second playoff shutout in Mariners history.

At St. Louis, Juan Yepez smashed a two-run homer in the seventh to give the Cardinals a 2-0 lead and they moved within two outs of victory.

St. Louis relief pitcher Ryan Helsley allowed a single and walked two batters to load the bases before hitting Alec Bohm with a pitch to force in a run.

Cardinals reliever Andre Pallante entered and surrendered a single to Jean Segura that drove in two runs and put the Phillies ahead to stay.

"It feels awesome," Segura said. 

The Phillies padded the lead with runs off a fielder's choice, single and sacrifice fly for a 6-2 edge.

St. Louis answered on Nolan Gorman's run-scoring single with two out in the ninth but potential tying run Yadier Molina struck out to end the game.

AFP