Yamamoto rebounds, looks every bit the ace in scoreless G5 start

Yamamoto rebounds, looks every bit the ace in scoreless G5 start

2:42 AM UTC

LOS ANGELES -- The Padres gave 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 as his team advanced to the NL Championship Series with a 2-0 win in Game 5 on Friday at Dodger Stadium.

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.

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.

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.

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.

"I think that realizing that Yoshinobu is here to be a top-end starter, and this is his time," Roberts said before the game of the decision to give the ball to Yamamoto. "I feel that we have really viable candidates behind him. But I certainly believe -- we all feel good about the decision for him to start."