PHOENIX -- Playing his first season in the big leagues in 2012, Yu Darvish was going through a rough patch. Hiroki Kuroda, then a veteran pitching for the Yankees, reached out to him.

¡°I think, in Japan, older guys don't necessarily reach out to the younger guys to provide advice or give advice,¡± Darvish said through interpreter Shingo Horie on Friday night. ¡°But in Kuroda's case, he just reached out and gave me everything that he had -- all this advice. So I think I look at that, and that¡¯s basically what I want to do to the younger guys.¡±

Kuroda spent 20 seasons pitching in Japan and MLB, amassing 203 combined victories -- a record he held solo until Darvish equaled it on Friday in the Padres¡¯ 5-3 victory over the Diamondbacks at Chase Field.

Kuroda had 79 wins in the Majors and 124 in Japan. Darvish has 110 MLB wins and 93 in Japan.

"Just a big honor,¡± Darvish said. ¡°It's just a great honor to be mentioned alongside someone like that."

Indeed, Darvish has paid it forward. The right-hander is generally revered for the wisdom he imparts on young Japanese players.

At 37, he¡¯s still going strong, too. Darvish recently returned from a three-month spell away from the team while on the injured list and the restricted list (as he dealt with a personal family-related matter). He has posted a 3.31 ERA on the season, including a 3.55 mark in five starts since his return.

On Friday, Darvish allowed two runs in the first inning, but he settled in to allow three runs total on three hits over 5 1/3 innings. With the victory, the Padres secured the top Wild Card spot and home-field advantage for the National League Wild Card Series.