LOS ANGELES – When the Dodgers scouted Yoshinobu Yamamoto in Japan, they envisioned him having to win games in the postseason. Once Los Angeles acquired him last offseason, Yamamoto was always going to be a big part of their success.
He was there early this season, showcasing the arsenal that made him one of the most sought-after free agents of the winter and looking like one of baseball’s best pitchers through the first two months with a 2.92 ERA on June 15. Then a right-handed rotator cuff strain in June halted that early success and would end his rookie MLB season.
After three months — plenty of MRIs, rehabs and waiting in between — Yamamoto returned to the Dodgers’ rotation on Sept. 10, but after a long layoff, he wasn’t quite himself. He did that just once in five innings over his last four starts of the regular season, and he also had some trouble with tipping pitches.
But on Friday, with LA’s season in the balance, the team needed Yamamoto at his best. All the chips were in the center of the table, and with a trip to the NLCS on the line in Game 5 of the NLDS, the Dodgers needed their $325 million man.
He did.
Yamamoto made the start of his young career in the Dodgers’ 2-0 win over the San Diego Padres, going five innings with two hits, one walk and zero earned runs and sending LA to the NLCS for the first time since 2021.
“Last outing, I didn’t do my job well,” Yamamoto said afterward, referring to his three innings in Game 1 with five runs surrendered. “I tried to prepare myself for today’s game.”
The Dodgers’ rookie right-hander should be great in the series finale. With not only maximum pressure in a must-win game, but Jake Flaherty struggling and using the bullpen to the fullest in Game 4, Yamamoto was their best — perhaps only — option.
It was clear from the first batter of the game that he was ready to give his team a chance, hitting 97 mph on his first pitch.
“He was great tonight,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said postgame. “I know he’s not going to run away from this spot. I’m looking forward to riding him in the World Series,” he said.
The biggest test of Yamamoto’s game is always going to be the Dodger killer, Fernando Tadis Jr. Tadis has been a thorn in the side of the Dodgers all series, with three homers off LA pitchers and a 1.759 postseason OPS going into Game 5. With the Dodgers going to advance to the next round, Yamamoto had to find a way to get the Padres superstar out.
In their first innings battle, Yamamoto opened Tattis’ batting with a ball. Daddis fouled off two pitches in a row before Yamamoto got him to swing with a slider, sending Dodger Stadium into a frenzy that showed the 26-year-old righty was locked up.
“This is the best we’ve ever seen him,” Padres manager Mike Schildt said afterward. “I give him a lot of credit. The fastball seemed to have more life. … He threw the secondary when he needed to, and we just couldn’t put anything together. I thought he rose to the occasion.
The biggest moment of the game for Yamamoto and the Dodgers came in the third inning. The Japanese star allowed just one walk to the first eight batters he faced, but in the third, he faced some adversity. After back-to-back one-out singles by Kyle Higashioka and Luis Ares, was there, ready to do some damage? Daddies, of course.
After Yamamoto fell behind 3-1, one swing could have changed the game. Instead, Yamamoto executed his best pitch of the night, rolling Tattis into a slider and grounding into a 5-4-3 double play. The innings is over.
“I tried to be aggressive,” Yamamoto said.
From there, he lined up the Padres’ hitters in the crisp fourth and fifth, Sept. Matched his longest start since arriving from IL on 10. In doing so, he gave the Dodgers what they needed to beat a Padres team. They seem to be on edge all series.
“The team paid this kid so much because it’s not … it’s not the draft. It’s not like he’s projected to be great — he’s great,” said Kike Hernandez, who hit a game-winning homer in the second inning. “What he did tonight, that’s what he did. He.
“We’re not surprised at all.”
The Dodgers are viewed as baseball’s elite, with their huge payroll and their superstar talent. But make no mistake: What they accomplished in this NLDS was no small feat. San Diego seemed to have every advantage from a physical and mental standpoint after Game 3.
But a team that has become accustomed to winning and has made reaching the postseason a regular occurrence is extremely dangerous. Many teams have dropped everything after Game 3, potentially surrendering the series in Game 4 in a hostile environment on the road.
“We won [NL] West, yes. But that team, they’re stacked, bro,” Hernandez said of the Padres. “They’re stacked — not just the rotation, but the lineup and the bullpen and the defense and the way they run the bases and the way they play. That’s a tough team to beat in October.
Still, there wasn’t a situation or scenario these Dodgers didn’t see, and they were able to break even in Game 4 and take the one-game series back in Game 5. For the final 24 innings of the series, they defeated the best opponent left in the postseason field.
“We know we have a ball club that can come from behind,” said Teoscar Hernandez, who added the Dodgers’ second solo homer in the seventh. “Obviously, we didn’t have the results we wanted in those two games we lost, but we’re keeping our minds in the same place we were at the beginning of the series.”
The series had a bit of everything — drama, star power, energy, atmosphere — and it was undeniably the most intense series of this postseason so far. So now, after coming back from a 2-1 deficit, the Dodgers have their own momentum as they prepare to face the red-hot Mets in Game 1 of the NLCS on Sunday.
“When I was a player with the Red Sox, it was like 2004 when we beat the Yankees,” manager Dave Roberts said after his team’s victory. “It’s a contender to beat the Braves in 2020 and get to the World Series. … You’re talking about one of the best teams in baseball. … And it’s a dogfight, and I have nothing but respect for the guys there.
“But how we won this series, how we came from behind — and had a lot of momentum going into the postseason — speaks to the character of our guys. It’s right there.”
