The Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the San Diego Padres 2-0 in Game 5 of the NLDS to advance to the National League Championship Series. The game featured a historic matchup between Japanese-born pitchers Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Yu Darvish. Yamamoto outdueled Darvish, allowing only two hits over five innings for the Dodgers.
The Dodgers will now face the New York Mets in the NLCS, with the series set to begin in Los Angeles on Sunday night. This victory marked the first time the Dodgers won a decisive Game 5 at home since 1981. The Padres struggled to score in the final 24 innings of the series, with their big hitters going 1 for 14 in Game 5.
Both Yamamoto and Darvish made history as the first Japanese-born starting pitchers to face off in a major league playoff game. The Dodgers relied on their bullpen to secure the win, with Evan Phillips, Alex Vesia, Michael Kopech, and Blake Treinen combining to shut down the Padres’ offense.
Kiké Hernández and Teoscar Hernández provided the offense for the Dodgers with home runs in the game. The matchup between the Padres and Dodgers featured tense pitching battles, with both teams combining to retire 26 consecutive batters at one point.
Despite the loss, the Padres showed promise throughout the season and pushed the Dodgers for the NL West title. The Dodgers, on the other hand, are heading to the NLCS for the 16th time overall and will be looking to advance to the World Series after falling short in 2021.
The game was attended by a sellout crowd, including notable figures like LeBron James, Brad Pitt, Rob Lowe, Bryan Cranston, and Jimmy Kimmel. The atmosphere was electric as the Dodgers secured their spot in the next round of the playoffs.
