Dodgers blank Padres in Game 5, advancing to the National League Championship Series. In a remarkable playoff face-off, Yoshinobu Yamamoto outshone Yu Darvish, leading the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 2-0 victory over the San Diego Padres on Friday night. The game featured home runs from Kiké Hernández and Teoscar Hernández, sealing the Dodgers’ spot in the NLCS.
Yamamoto showcased his talent by allowing just two hits across five innings before being replaced after 63 pitches. This intense Game 5 marked the third meeting in five years between these fierce rivals in the NL Division Series.
[Related: The key moments that sparked Dodgers-Padres rivalry]
The Dodgers are set to face Pete Alonso and the New York Mets in the best-of-seven NLCS, starting Sunday night in Los Angeles (8:15 p.m. ET on FOX).
This victory was particularly significant for the Dodgers, as it marked their first Game 5 win at home since the 1981 NL Division Series against Houston. With a stellar regular-season record of 98-64, they successfully avoided a third consecutive NLDS elimination.
The Padres struggled offensively when it mattered most. Key players, including three-time batting champion Luis Arraez, Fernando Tatis Jr., Jurickson Profar, and Manny Machado, combined for a disappointing 1-for-14 performance in Game 5, with the last 19 batters going down without a fight.
San Diego ended the series without scoring for the final 24 innings, losing the last two games after initially leading the series 2-1.
This matchup was historic, as Yamamoto and Darvish became the first Japanese-born starting pitchers to compete against each other in MLB playoff history. At just 26 years old, Yamamoto also became the fifth rookie to start a winner-take-all game for the Dodgers.
Yamamoto handed the game over to a reliable bullpen that had been crucial during the regular season, especially with injuries impacting the starting rotation. Evan Phillips secured five outs, striking out both Profar and Machado in the seventh inning, while Alex Vesia closed the inning by fanning rookie standout Jackson Merrill.
Despite an injury scare, Vesia was replaced by Michael Kopech, who delivered a flawless inning before Blake Treinen recorded three quick outs, earning his second save of the series.
The game concluded with Tatis grounding out, allowing Kiké Hernández to make the final play after shifting from center field to third base.
Darvish, who idolized Shohei Ohtani during his youth, surrendered an early home run to Kiké Hernández but managed to retire 14 consecutive batters afterward. However, Teoscar Hernández’s homer in the seventh inning chased Darvish from the mound, extending the lead to 2-0.
The game set a postseason record as the Padres and Dodgers combined to retire 26 consecutive batters.
Darvish finished with two runs allowed and three hits over 6 2/3 innings, striking out four and walking one.
On a notable side note, Darvish and Ohtani had previously collaborated to secure a victory for Japan in last year’s World Baseball Classic, but on Friday, they found themselves in opposing roles. Ohtani struck out three times, twice against Darvish, in a game that aired in Japan on Saturday morning.
Although Ohtani made a significant impact in Game 1 with a tying three-run homer, he was quiet for the remainder of the series after setting a major league record for achieving 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a single season.
The series was high-scoring overall, with a combined 43 runs in the first five games, but Game 5 turned into a pitching duel in front of a packed crowd of 53,183, which included celebrities such as LeBron James, Brad Pitt, Rob Lowe, Bryan Cranston, and Jimmy Kimmel.
The Padres concluded the series without scoring since the second inning of Game 3.
Yamamoto effectively covered first base multiple times, easing the workload for All-Star first baseman Freddie Freeman, who returned after missing Game 4 due to a sprained right ankle.
The Dodgers took an early lead with Kiké Hernández’s two-out drive in the second inning, marking his 14th career postseason home run. Hernández was brought back to the Dodgers this season specifically to make a difference in October.
Los Angeles avoided elimination in San Diego with an impressive 8-0 victory in Game 4, setting the stage for the decisive match at home, where a previous Game 2 loss saw fans throwing objects onto the field, resulting in a 12-minute delay. The public-address announcer cautioned fans during the fifth inning on Friday to refrain from throwing items.
Up next
The Dodgers will make their 16th appearance in the NLCS, the first since 2021, when they fell to Atlanta in six games.
Meanwhile, the Padres enter the offseason with a sense of optimism for the upcoming year, having challenged the Dodgers for the NL West title until the final days of the regular season.
