The Los Angeles Dodgers shelled out US$1 billion for Japanese talent in the off-season and it is paying off in the MLB playoffs.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto on Friday outdueled Yu Darvish in a historic post-season matchup of Japanese-born starters, while the Dodgers got home runs from Kike Hernandez and Teoscar Hernandez to beat the San Diego Padres 2-0 and advance to the National League Championship Series.
“It’s pretty sweet,” a smiling Freddie Freeman said.
Photo: Jayne Kamin / Oncea / Imagn Images
Yamamoto allowed two hits over five innings for the win, getting pulled after 63 pitches in a decisive Game 5 between heated NL West rivals who were meeting in a Division Series for the third time in five years.
He signed a US$325 million, 12-year deal in December last year, shortly after the Dodgers lured superstar Shohei Ohtani from the Los Angeles Angels with a record US$700 million, 10-year contract.
Ohtani and the Dodgers are to play the wild-card New York Mets in the best-of-seven NLCS starting today in Los Angeles.
Photo: Jayne Kamin / Oncea / Imagn Images
“We’re ready for the next level,” manager Dave Roberts said.
The Dodgers won a decisive Game 5 at home for the first time since taking a 1981 NL Division Series against the Houston Astros after a season split into halves following a players’ strike.
“We went through a lot of injuries, a lot of ups and a lot of downs. We fight, we fight and keep going,” star outfielder Mookie Betts said. “All season everybody says the Dodgers are winning the World Series, the Dodgers are winning the World Series. And we get to this series, and all of a sudden we’re the underdog.”
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Boasting the majors’ best regular-season record of 98-64, they successfully avoided a third straight NLDS elimination.
“We’d been in a little bit of a DS funk,” said Andrew Friedman, president of baseball operations. “For the guys that had been there, they could feel that after we got down 2-1. The new guys wanted no part of that.”
The Padres’ big hitters went bust with their season on the line. Three-time batting champion Luis Arraez, Fernando Tatis Jr, Jurickson Profar and Manny Machado were one for 14 in Game 5 as Los Angeles pitchers retired their last 19 batters.
Photo: Jayne Kamin / Oncea / Imagn Images
“Everybody was picking them to win because we have no pitching, we can’t hit with runners in scoring position, this and that,” a soaked Kike Hernandez said. “We’re the ones popping bottles now.”
San Diego’s powerful lineup went scoreless for the final 24 innings of the series, dropping the final two games after taking a 2-1 lead at home.
“I think stunning is appropriate,” Padres manager Mike Shildt said.
Photo: Jayne Kamin / Oncea / Imagn Images
“It’s a devastating one for sure,” Machado said.
Yamamoto and Darvish were the first Japanese-born starting pitchers to square off in major-league playoff history. The 26-year-old Yamamoto was the fifth rookie to start a winner-take-all game in Dodgers history.
“It was awesome to be able to pitch with him, to share the mound on such a big stage,” Darvish said through an interpreter. “He’s not just a great pitcher, but he is a great human being, too. It was a great night for both of us.”
Darvish gave up three hits in 6 2/3 innings, struck out four and walked one. He dropped to 0-5 in elimination games — four of them quality starts.
“I thought Yu was magnificent again. Had them off balance. Couple of swings got him. Other than that, he was really good,” Shildt said.
Yamamoto joined Orel Hershiser, Jerry Reuss, Sandy Koufax and Johnny Podres as the only Dodgers pitchers with a scoreless start of at least five innings in a winner-take-all post-season game.
“For Yamamoto, I don’t think any of us can appreciate the pressure on a global scale,” Roberts said. “He was pitching for the country of Japan.”
Yamamoto handed the ball to a stellar bullpen who carried the Dodgers during the regular season, when their starters were hit hard by injuries.
Evan Phillips got five outs, fanning Profar and Machado in the seventh before Alex Vesia whiffed rookie standout Jackson Merrill to end the inning.
Vesia was warming up for the eighth when he exited with an injury. Michael Kopech came on and worked a perfect inning before Blake Treinen got three quick outs for his third career post-season save and second of the series.
With that, the NL West champs spilled out of the dugout for hugs and then headed back into their clubhouse for another celebration.
Clayton Kershaw, Gavin Lux, Kopech, Walker Buehler and Tyler Glasnow huddled in a corner smoking victory cigars.
In the middle of the room, its carpet drenched in alcohol and music blaring, a laughing Ohtani delighted in opening bottles of beer and pouring them over the heads of teammates and staff members.
“Anytime you’re smelling like champagne, it means you’re doing something good,” Betts said.
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