SAN DIEGO -- The Padres desperately needed a starting pitcher to play the role of stopper on Tuesday night. They desperately needed someone to put a halt to their string of iffy starts -- early struggles from the rotation that consistently left the offense playing from behind.

In short, the Padres needed precisely what Yu Darvish delivered on Tuesday night in their 6-4 victory over the Reds at Petco Park. After a short stint on the injured list with neck tightness, Darvish is back like he never left.

¡°He looked great,¡± said Padres first baseman Jake Cronenworth. ¡°It didn¡¯t even look like he took any time off -- which is exactly what we want.¡±

Making his first start since April 14, Darvish worked five efficient, scoreless frames. On a 75-pitch limit, he needed only 70 to work his way twice through the Reds¡¯ lineup. He struck out three and walked none, while allowing only three hits -- all singles.

The Padres grabbed a 5-0 lead in the fifth when manager Mike Shildt¡¯s bold decision to take a run off the board after a catcher's interference call paid off in the form of Manny Machado¡¯s three-run double. From there, the San Diego bullpen was just good enough to earn Darvish his first win of the season.

¡°That was fantastic by Darvish,¡± Shildt said. ¡°He was tremendous. We know what we¡¯re going to get out of Yu. But, of course, he was on a limited pitch count, and we weren¡¯t sure what his innings would look like.

¡°He hit pretty much his ceiling on the pitches but did it in tremendous fashion. ¡­ He looked like Yu Darvish, which is pretty special.¡±

Padres starters had allowed at least four runs in every game of the team¡¯s five-game losing streak -- a disappointing stretch for a club that views its rotation as a bedrock for its success.

Of course, that rotation was without its Opening Day starter in Darvish -- though Darvish had struggled a bit himself, entering play Tuesday with a 4.18 ERA across five starts.

¡°Obviously you go in there trying to get us out of that funk,¡± Darvish said. ¡°So that¡¯s the mentality: Let¡¯s stop the losing streak right here.¡±

Mission accomplished. On top of that, Darvish outdueled close friend Nick Martinez, his longtime teammate with both the Padres and Rangers. When he took the Petco Park mound Tuesday night, he eschewed his typical warm-up song for ¡°Baian¨¢¡± by Bakermat -- which was Martinez¡¯s warm-up song during his time in San Diego. Martinez was spotted laughing about it in the visitors' dugout.

¡°Everybody loves Nick in this clubhouse,¡± Darvish said. ¡°I've been a great friend of Nick for a long time. It was more kind of to show Nick respect.¡±