by Megan Garcia
The Dodgers weren’t surprised Yoshinobu Yamamoto would dominate against the Padres in Game 5 of the National League Division Series.
His career demonstrated success in big games. The Dodgers wanted that same success in the postseason. Yamamoto brought it on Friday.
“He’s pitched in big ball games,” manager Dave Roberts said. “I believed in him. I knew he was going to rise to the occasion. I knew he wasn’t going to run from this spot. I’m looking forward to riding him through the World Series.”
He battled back from a months-long injury and upsetting losses to be a contributor in the postseason. The rookie pitcher rose to the occasion in the biggest game of his career.
Five scoreless innings, two hits and a ticket punched to the National League Championship Series against the New York Mets.
It’s exactly what the Dodgers wanted in a winner-take-all game.
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“He just went out there and had that mentality of going out there and attacking,” said catcher Will Smith. “He set the tone today and we needed that.”
Yamamoto was determined to have a different outcome against the Padres in Game 5. The right-hander gave up five earned runs on five hits and two walks over three innings in Game 1. He tossed 60 pitches that night.
Six days later, Yamamoto was ready for redemption.
He struck out two hitters and walked one amongst the 17 batters he faced. He threw 63 pitches and landed 39 strikes.
A clean first inning was instrumental for the rookie. It set the tone for his outing against a Padres offense that cooled down after outscoring the Dodgers 21–14 in the first three games of the series.
“In terms of getting ready for today’s game, I was just trying to focus on getting myself ready, preparation more meticulously,” Yamamoto said. “Then in terms of velocity today, I think my mechanics was locked in today.”
He retired the side in order in the first. He worked around a walk in the second inning for another scoreless frame.
The third inning spelled trouble with the Dodgers leading 1–0.
Consecutive one-out singles brought Fernando Tatis Jr. to the plate. But on a 3–1 slider, Yamamoto forced Tatis to ground out. Trouble averted.
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He retired the following six batters to finish his best outing against the Padres this season. He learned from his mistakes in Game 1 and executed to near perfection.
“We had a couple of meetings on how to attack because this is a great lineup,” Yamamoto said. “Like I said earlier on, I was just getting focused on getting myself ready for today.”
Yamamoto has evolved since his first outing against the Padres in the Seoul Series that opened the season. His one-inning, five-run outing is a blemish compared to his other successes this season.
He redeemed himself in April when he faced the Padres again. He surrendered three earned runs in five innings, striking out six and walking one batter on 91 pitches.
Six months later, Yamamoto redeemed himself once again.
“I believed in Yoshi from the outset,” Roberts said. “He performed just admirably.”
NLDS: Yoshinobu Yamamoto finds redemption against the Padres was originally published in Dodger Insider on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.