LA advances to the NLCS with dramatic win in Game 5

LOS ANGELES – Exuberant Los Angeles Dodgers fans stood up Friday night, screamed loud enough to be heard in Pasadena, and watched their beloved team exuberantly celebrate its biggest victory in years.

The Dodgers took a big step toward the World Series in perhaps the most anticipated season in franchise history by defeating the San Diego Padres and winning 2-0 in Game 5 of the National League Division Series at Dodger Stadium.

Next up: The New York Mets, who they will face on Sunday in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series.

“We didn’t come here to win the NL West,” said Dodgers centerfielder Enrique Hernandez, whose home run in the second inning was all they needed. “We came to win the World Series.”

Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the $325 million man, rose to the occasion just when his team needed him most.

He was brilliant for five innings, allowing just two hits and a walk, proving that the Dodgers made the right decision giving him the ball despite his struggles against the Padres in Game 1.

The bullpen did the rest, and when the smoke cleared, the Dodgers had shut out the Padres in 24 consecutive innings.

The only time Yamamoto ever got into trouble was in the third inning, when Kyle Higashioka and Luis Arráez produced back-to-back one-out singles, bringing in Fernando Tatis Jr., who tormented the Dodgers.

Yamamoto fell behind 3-1, but got Tatis to hit a weak groundball to third baseman Max Muncy, setting up a double play.

It was the last sign of life for the Padres offense.

The Padres’ power outage ruined Yu Darvish’s spectacular performance – in which he and Yamamoto became the first Japanese pitchers to face each other in a postseason game. Darvish gave up just three hits and two runs in 6⅔ innings and overwhelmed Shohei Ohtani, who struck out three times on Friday.

“It means a lot for us to play a playoff game on the same day,” Darvish said before his start. “I think the level of baseball in Japan has risen and it’s actually showing at the end.” So it’s really nice to see all these players that come here having success.

These pitchers were so dominant that they suddenly retired 26 batters in a row, the longest streak in a single game in MLB postseason history.

Despite the brilliant pitching, it was the Hernández duo that stole the show.

Darvish had retired 14 consecutive batters after giving up the home run to Enrique Hernández, then gave up another home run to cleanup hitter Teoscar Hernández on a 2-and-1 slider with one out in the seventh inning.

“This,” said Teoscar Hernández, “is the reason I came here.”

Still, it was Enrique Hernández who set the tone for the game. He was on the field two hours before game time, preparing for batting practice, when he was summoned by Dodgers manager Dave Roberts and Andrew Friedman, president of baseball operations.

They talked intently at the batting cage for about 10 minutes, Hernandez excused himself, took a round of batting practice, and the conversation lasted another five minutes.

Well, whatever was said, whatever was expressed, whatever secrets were exchanged, it worked like a charm.

Hernández jumped on the first pitch he saw from Darvish, sending his 94.7 mph fastball 429 feet into the left field seats. It was just the final chapter of his October exploits. He now has 14 career postseason home runs.

“The way I see it,” said Hernández, “is that we have dreamed of these types of games since we were little children. You have to have the right attitude and the right mentality to come in here and just find a way to dominate the day.

“I think something that worked for me is the fact that I gained a lot of experience in those moments.”

The secret, according to Hernández, is to visualize success when he goes to bed the night before the game.

“There are fears and things like that that we go through as athletes, especially in big situations, big games, especially in October,” Hernández said. “And whenever you feel like that little fear or whatever is creeping in, just go back to visualizing yourself being successful.

“You just find a way, whatever you need to find, so that when the big moment comes and you get to work or whatever it may be, you don’t let it get too big. You feel like you are bigger than the moment and there is no moment that is too big for you.

“That’s my mentality.”

Of course, the entire Dodgers team has been imagining a World Series since spring training. They are now eight wins away from finally holding their first World Series parade since 1988.

The Dodgers won the World Series in 2020, but that was at the height of the pandemic, when they won the championship at a neutral site in Arlington, Texas, returned home and went into isolation again.

“If there’s something that has this crowd,” Enrique Hernandez said, “it’s hunger. They want a championship. They want another one. What we had a few years ago, the city couldn’t celebrate for obvious reasons.

“We know how bad they want it.”

The only team currently standing in the way of a World Series berth is the Mets, the same team they stunned in the 1988 NLCS before winning the World Series against the Oakland A’s.

But now that they’ve defeated the Padres, who ended their season two years ago, they believe nothing can stop them.

“We have a lot of people who believe in each other,” Enrique Hernandez said. “We have a bullpen that doesn’t care at all, and they’re evil. We have a high-octane offense.

“We are hungry. We want it. We’re in this together.”

Here’s how Friday’s game went at Dodger Stadium:

With another dominant pitching performance, the Los Angeles Dodgers punched their ticket to the NLCS on Friday with a 2-0 victory over the San Diego Padres in Game 5 of the NLDS.

Starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto gave the Dodgers five scoreless innings and the game’s only runs came on solo home runs by Enrique Hernandez and Teoscar Hernandez.

While warming up to start the eighth inning, Dodgers left-hander Alex Vesia suddenly injured himself and had to be removed from the game after striking out the finale in the seventh inning.

With a 2-0 lead, Michael Kopech came on in the biggest game of his career for the Dodgers and fell 1-2-3 to the Padres.

San Diego got Yu Darvish out again in the seventh inning and with one out, Teoscar Hernández hit a solo home run, doubling the Dodgers’ lead.

In his first year with the Dodgers, Hernandez finished the regular season with a career-best 33 home runs and won the 2024 Home Run Derby.

Evan Phillips retired all five batters he faced, striking out three and allowing left-hander Alex Vesia to lead the Dodgers’ bullpen with two outs to start the seventh.

Vesia struck out rookie sensation Jackson Merrill to bring the game to the bottom of the seventh.

Exceeding even the most optimistic expectations, Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitched five shutout innings in Game 5, allowing just two hits with a walk and turning the game over to Dodgers reliever Evan Phillips for the sixth time.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto threw four scoreless innings in the biggest game of his (short) MLB career, while Enrique Hernández’s solo home run in the second inning remains the only hit so far.

After Will Smith hit a double play, Enrique Hernández hit a solo home run to left field to give the Dodgers a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second.

It was the 14th home run of the season for Hernández, who is playing in the playoffs for the ninth time.

Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto needed just 24 pitches – 17 strikes – to get through the first two innings of Game 5. The $325 man didn’t give up a hit, but walked Xander Bogaerts with two outs to start the second.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto defeated the Padres 1-2-3, starting Game 5 at Dodger Stadium with a groundout by Luis Arraez, a strikeout by Fernando Tatis Jr. and a lineout by Jurickson Profar.

Dave Roberts couldn’t have asked for a better first inning.

Friday’s matchup will be the first postseason game started by two Japanese pitchers.

“It’s a great thing that we can compete against each other in Game 5 of an NLDS game,” Padres starter Yu Darvish said before starting against compatriot Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

“I’m also very good friends with him on a personal level.”

Padres manager Mike Shildt said: “It’s a big deal. … What I love about this series, aside from the fact that we’re heading into a really cool fifth game, is the fact that Major League Baseball has done a fantastic job of making it an international game.

“I grew up it was America’s game and hot dogs and apple pie, and I guess I could plug in a Chevrolet. But now it’s just an international game. The entire country of Japan will be watching, and rightly so. I think it’s fantastic that our game has these tentacles now.”

Yoshinobu Yamamoto will start for the Dodgers, but he is not expected to play deep in the game. Manager Dave Roberts told reporters that “everyone in the bullpen is up” and confirmed that starter Jack Flaherty will be available in Game 5 if needed.

“I think for Yoshinobu it’s just been that way since the beginning,” Roberts said. “You know it’s not a 110-pitch exercise, it’s a 100-pitch exercise; It’s about going out there and tackling it from the first pitch. I think with this attitude it will be a good sign.

Yu Darvish will start for the Padres on Friday and manager Mike Shildt said before the game that the San Diego bullpen was ready to go.

“We got Yu going. Trust him completely,” Sheldt said. “We have our back-end people ready to go. You are ready. Even if they made a pitch yesterday or the day before, they are ready. You are definitely rested. We’re happy that you’re picking it up and bringing it home with you.

Luis Arraez (L) 1B
Fernando Tatis Jr. (R) RF
Jurickson Profar (S) LF
Manny Machado (R) 3B
Jackson Merrill (left) CF
Xander Bogaerts (R) SS
David Peralta (L) DH
Jake Cronenworth (L) 2B
Kyle Higashioka (R) C

Shohei Ohtani (left) DH
Mookie Betts (R) RF
Freddie Freeman (L) 1B
Teoscar Hernández (R) LF
Max Muncy (L) 3B
Will Smith (R) C
Enrique Hernández (R) CF
Gavin Lux (L) 2B
Tommy Edman (S) SS

Get to the heart of the news quickly with the USA TODAY app. Download for award-winning reporting, crosswords, audio storytelling, the e-newspaper and more.