The Los Angeles Dodgers are returning to the NLCS and shall be trying to win their first NL pennant since 2020, once they gained the World Collection. They superior right here by taking down the San Diego Padres within the NLDS on the energy of a 2-0 win in Sport 5 Friday night time in a rowdy Dodger Stadium.
This is the way it all went down.
Yamamoto steps up
Yoshinobu Yamamoto was cruising together with a superb rookie season by way of June earlier than he went down with a shoulder damage. He returned in September and made 4 begins to various ranges of success (3.38 ERA in all), however then obtained tattooed by the Padres for 5 runs in three innings in Sport 1 of the NLDS.
As such, there have been professional questions across the Dodgers beginning Yamamoto within the do-or-die Sport 5. He delivered. In 5 scoreless innings, he gave up solely two hits and one stroll. He struck out two, however did not hand over a lot arduous contact. Greater than something, he offered his group with size and did not hand over a single run within the last sport of a collection that had seen a lot scoring within the first 4 video games.
“He set the tone. I feel that Yoshi’s had a whole lot of success in his skilled profession. I mentioned it earlier than; he is pitched in large ball video games. And I believed in him. I knew he was going to rise to the event,” supervisor Dave Roberts mentioned after the sport.
“And he was excellent tonight. And I knew he wasn’t going to run from this spot. I am trying ahead to using him by way of the World Collection.”
Yamamoto joins Johnny Podres, Sandy Koufax, Jerry Reuss and Orel Hershiser on the listing of Dodgers pitchers to hurl five-plus scoreless innings in a win-or-go-home playoff sport (via MLB.com).
Padres offense went to sleep
Do not forget that Fernando Tatis Jr. residence run within the second inning in Sport 3 of this collection? Yeah, that was the final time the Padres scored a run in 2024. They closed that sport with six scoreless innings earlier than being shut out twice to finish the season. That will be 24 straight innings from a high-powered offense. Yikes.
Clearly, credit score have to be given to the Dodgers pitching workers for this and we did so with Yamamoto above. It wasn’t simply him. The bullpen was nice within the again half of this collection, identical to they have been in Sport 1. They closed the door after Yamamoto departed on this one, too. Along with Yamamoto in Sport 5, credit score Evan Phillips, Michael Kopech and Blake Treinen.
That mentioned, the Padres clubhouse has to really feel fairly empty. That they had the most effective group in baseball on the ropes and simply completely stopped hitting.
Kiké loves the playoffs
It was the underside of the second inning when Enrique Hernández went deep to supply the primary run of the sport:
This was the seventy fifth profession playoff sport for Kiké and the blast above was his 14th profession homer in these playoff video games. Apparently, he did not even have any by way of his first 16 playoff video games, however then he clubbed three homers in Sport 5 of the 2017 NLCS and he is been a playoff energy menace ever since.
Within the common season, he has homered as soon as each 29.1 at-bats. Within the playoffs? One residence run each 13.4 at-bats.
Teoscar tacked on
Even with the Padres’ offense having laid dormant for therefore many innings, the 1-0 lead nonetheless felt fairly tenuous heading into the late innings. Teoscar Hernández made it a little bit simpler to breathe with this blast within the backside of the seventh.
Hernández additionally hit a grand slam that tightened issues up in Sport 3. All informed, he has hit two homers and 5 RBI because the Padres final scored.
The 31-year-old veteran had a pleasant bounce-back 12 months in 2024 after a down season with the Mariners in 2023. This 12 months, he hit 33 homers and drove residence 99 runs, making his second All-Star group within the course of. He even gained the House Run Derby.
This marks the primary time in his profession that Hernández has superior within the playoffs. He beforehand misplaced two Wild Card Collection as a member of the Blue Jays.
“That is my first time in this type of ambiance,” he mentioned on the printed Friday. “I like this. This is the reason I got here right here. This is the reason I signed right here with the Dodgers.”
Darvish was good, however not ok
Padres starter Yu Darvish takes the loss right here, however he pitched properly sufficient to win. His teammates simply did not present assist. He ended up permitting simply three hits in 6 2/3 innings of labor. Two of these three hits went for residence runs and his group scored zero runs for him. That is what we name a “tough-luck loser.”
Up subsequent
The Dodgers advance to the NLCS to host the Mets in a best-of-seven battle for the pennant. Sport 1 will happen in Chavez Ravine on Sunday.
The Mets closed their collection down on Wednesday, giving them loads of time to arrange their pitching. And whereas the Mets have been the No. 6 seed heading into the playoffs, they’d the most effective file in baseball from June by way of the top of the season.
The Dodgers, in fact, had the most effective file in baseball, interval.
The Dodger gained the season collection, 4 video games to 2, and outscored the Mets 36-20. They have not performed one another since Might 29, nonetheless, so it is arduous to name these outcomes related to how this collection will unfold.
Brace your self for loads of blue within the NLCS.
