'Locked in' Yamamoto rebounds with scoreless G5 start

LOS ANGELES -- The Padres gave Yoshinobu Yamamoto a rude introduction to the big leagues in Seoul, then to postseason baseball in Game 1 of the National League Division Series.

But with the Dodgers' season on the line, Yamamoto delivered a redemption outing, tossing five scoreless innings with a noticeable uptick in velocity as his team advanced to the NL Championship Series with a 2-0 win in Game 5 on Friday at Dodger Stadium.

"The last outing, I didn't do my job well," Yamamoto said through interpreter Yoshihiro Sonoda. "… I was just trying to focus on getting myself ready, [preparing] more meticulously. And then in terms of velo today, I think my mechanics were locked in."

The strong effort from Yamamoto made him the fifth pitcher in Dodgers history with a scoreless start of five or more innings in a winner-take-all postseason game, joining Orel Hershiser (1988 NLDS Game 5), Jerry Reuss (1981 NLCS Game 7), Sandy Koufax (1965 World Series Game 7) and Johnny Podres (1955 World Series Game 7), who all threw shutouts.

Yamamoto also joined the Brewers' Tobias Myers (2024 NL Wild Card Game 3) and the Pirates' Babe Adams (1909 World Series Game 7) as the only rookies to throw five or more innings while not allowing a run in a winner-take-all postseason game, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

With Yu Darvish toeing the rubber for the Padres, Friday's game marked the first time two Japanese starting pitchers faced off in the postseason -- so beyond the sellout crowd at Dodger Stadium, Yamamoto knew there would be plenty of additional eyes from his home country on him.

There had been some question of whether the Dodgers would give the ball to Yamamoto for Game 5, particularly after he allowed five runs across three innings in Game 1 and the team ran a bullpen game to great success in Game 4.

But the Dodgers believed Yamamoto had been tipping pitches in his first career postseason start, and with a week to clean up the issue, manager Dave Roberts was confident that the young right-hander would rise to the occasion.

"It was founded in the fact that Yoshi, Darvish … other guys that have pitched that are from out of the country, they're pitching on a bigger scale," Roberts said. "Yoshi is pitching for his country. When you pitch for the [World Baseball Classic], for the country of Japan, those are the highest stakes that you can have.

"He's done that and pitched well in those moments. … I didn't believe that he was going to run from this moment. And we were going to get everything he had. And that's what he did."

Los Angeles made no shortage of bold moves last offseason, but the decision to sign Yamamoto to a 12-year, $325 million deal before he had thrown a pitch in the Majors was perhaps their riskiest.

After his dominant outing in Game 5, it looks like money well spent. Yamamoto struck out two and allowed just two singles and a walk to the Padres, needing only 63 pitches to match his longest outing since returning from a three-month absence due to a right triceps injury on Sept. 10.

"Well, it's the best we've seen him," Padres manager Mike Shildt said. "I liked his fastball in and out. Threw the secondary [pitches] when he needed to, and we just couldn't string anything together. I thought he rose to the occasion."

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The third inning was the only spot where Yamamoto looked to be running into trouble, as he gave up back-to-back base hits with one out. But he induced a double-play ball off the bat of Fernando Tatis Jr. to end the threat.

"One out. Tatis, their best hitter, up," catcher Will Smith said. "He got to us this series, but we were able to get the double play, stay up 1-0. That was huge."

Yamamoto's Major League career began against the Padres, when he was ambushed for five runs in one inning during the Seoul Series. He saw San Diego once more in the regular season, allowing a trio of runs across five innings on April 12 at Dodger Stadium.

Adding on his subpar outing in Game 1, Yamamoto had plenty of reason to be haunted by his team's Southern California rivals in Game 5. He responded by playing an outsized role in ending their season.

"I said earlier, Yama, it was going to be one of the best games that he throws this year," Teoscar Hernández said. "And we saw it tonight. He was amazing."

Said Roberts: "I knew he wasn't going to run from this spot. I'm looking forward to riding him through the World Series."