The Los Angeles Dodgers are returning to the NLCS and will be looking to win their first NL pennant since 2020, when they won the World Series. They advanced here by taking down the San Diego Padres in the NLDS on the strength of a 2-0 win in Game 5 Friday night in a rowdy Dodger Stadium.
Here's how it all went down.
Yamamoto steps up
Yoshinobu Yamamoto was cruising along with an excellent rookie season through June before he went down with a shoulder injury. He returned in September and made four starts to varying levels of success (3.38 ERA in all), but then got tattooed by the Padres for five runs in three innings in Game 1 of the NLDS.
As such, there were legitimate questions around the Dodgers starting Yamamoto in the do-or-die Game 5. He delivered. In five scoreless innings, he gave up only two hits and one walk. He struck out two, but didn't give up much hard contact. More than anything, he provided his team with length and didn't give up a single run in the final game of a series that had seen so much scoring in the first four games.
"He set the tone. I think that Yoshi's had a lot of success in his professional career. I said it before; he's pitched in big ball games. And I believed in him. I knew he was going to rise to the occasion," manager Dave Roberts said after the game.
"And he was outstanding tonight. And I knew he wasn't going to run from this spot. I'm looking forward to riding him through the World Series."
Yamamoto joins Johnny Podres, Sandy Koufax, Jerry Reuss and Orel Hershiser on the list of Dodgers pitchers to hurl five-plus scoreless innings in a win-or-go-home playoff game (via MLB.com).
Padres offense went to sleep
Remember that Fernando Tatis Jr. home run in the second inning in Game 3 of this series? Yeah, that was the last time the Padres scored a run in 2024. They closed that game with six scoreless innings before being shut out twice to end the season. That would be 24 straight innings from a high-powered offense. Yikes.
Obviously, credit must be given to the Dodgers pitching staff for this and we did so with Yamamoto above. It wasn't just him. The bullpen was great in the back half of this series, just like they were in Game 1. They closed the door after Yamamoto departed in this one, too. In addition to Yamamoto in Game 5, credit Evan Phillips, Michael Kopech and Blake Treinen.
That said, the Padres clubhouse has to feel pretty empty. They had the best team in baseball on the ropes and just totally stopped hitting.
Kiké loves the playoffs
It was the bottom of the second inning when Enrique Hernández went deep to provide the first run of the game:
This was the 75th career playoff game for Kiké and the blast above was his 14th career homer in those playoff games. Interestingly, he didn't even have any through his first 16 playoff games, but then he clubbed three homers in Game 5 of the 2017 NLCS and he's been a playoff power threat ever since.
In the regular season, he has homered once every 29.1 at-bats. In the playoffs? One home run every 13.4 at-bats.
Teoscar tacked on
Even with the Padres' offense having laid dormant for so many innings, the 1-0 lead still felt pretty tenuous heading into the late innings. Teoscar Hernández made it a little easier to breathe with this blast in the bottom of the seventh.
Hernández also hit a grand slam that tightened things up in Game 3. All told, he has hit two homers and five RBI since the Padres last scored.
The 31-year-old veteran had a nice bounce-back year in 2024 after a down season with the Mariners in 2023. This year, he hit 33 homers and drove home 99 runs, making his second All-Star team in the process. He even won the Home Run Derby.
This marks the first time in his career that Hernández has advanced in the playoffs. He previously lost two Wild Card Series as a member of the Blue Jays.
"This is my first time in this kind of atmosphere," he said on the broadcast Friday. "I love this. This is why I came here. This is why I signed here with the Dodgers."
Darvish was good, but not good enough
Padres starter Yu Darvish takes the loss here, but he pitched well enough to win. His teammates just didn't provide support. He ended up allowing just three hits in 6 2/3 innings of work. Two of those three hits went for home runs and his team scored zero runs for him. That's what we call a "tough-luck loser."
Up next
The Dodgers advance to the NLCS to host the Mets in a best-of-seven battle for the pennant. Game 1 will take place in Chavez Ravine on Sunday.
The Mets closed their series down on Wednesday, giving them plenty of time to set up their pitching. And while the Mets were the No. 6 seed heading into the playoffs, they had the best record in baseball from June through the end of the season.
The Dodgers, of course, had the best record in baseball, period.
The Dodger won the season series, four games to two, and outscored the Mets 36-20. They haven't played each other since May 29, however, so it's hard to call those results relevant to how this series will unfold.
Brace yourself for plenty of blue in the NLCS.