MLB Playoffs: Yoshinobu Yamamoto delivers the best start of his career as the Dodgers advance to the NLCS

LOS ANGELES — When the Dodgers discovered Yoshinobu Yamamoto in Japan, they envisioned him starting for the team in must-win postseason games. And after Los Angeles signed him last offseason, Yamamoto was always going to be a big part of LA's success.

And he was there at the start of this season, flashing the arsenal that made him one of the most sought-after free agents of the winter, and looking like one of the best pitchers in baseball through the first two months, with a 2.92 ERA on the 15th . June. But a right rotator cuff strain suffered in June appeared to derail that early success and potentially end his rookie MLB season.

Three months later — with many MRIs, rehabs and waiting periods in between — Yamamoto returned to the Dodgers' rotation on September 10, but after a long layoff, he wasn't quite himself in his final four regular-season starts He only managed to last five innings once, and he even had some trouble tipping pitches.

But on Friday, with L.A.'s season on the line, the team needed Yamamoto's best. All the chips were in the middle of the table, and with a trip to the NLCS on the line in Game 5 of the NLDS, the Dodgers needed their $325 million man to advance.

And he did.

Yamamoto delivered the start of his young career in the Dodgers' 2-0 victory over the San Diego Padres, pitching five innings with just two hits, one walk and zero earned runs, sending LA to the NLCS for the first time since 2021.

“Last game, I didn’t do my job well,” Yamamoto said afterward, referring to his three innings with five runs given up in Game 1. “I was trying to prepare for today’s game.”

The Dodgers' rookie right-hander had to be great in the series finale. Not only was the pressure at its peak in a must-win game, but with Jack Flaherty struggling and the team having used the bullpen extensively in Game 4, Yamamoto was the best – and perhaps only – option.

It was clear from the first batter of the game that he was ready to give his team a chance, as he reached 97 miles per hour on his first pitch.

“He was outstanding tonight,” Dodgers manager Dave Robert said after the game. “And I knew he wouldn’t run away from here. I look forward to accompanying him through the World Series.”

The biggest test of the game for Yamamoto would be Dodger hitman Fernando Tatis Jr. Tatis was a thorn in the Dodgers' side throughout the series, with three home runs off LA pitchers and a postseason OPS of 1.759 before Game 5. If the Dodgers wanted to advance to the next round, Yamamoto had to find a way to bring in the superstar to get the Padres out.

Yamamoto started Tatis' first inning with a ball. Then Tatis fouled two pitches in a row before Yamamoto got him to swing through a slider, showing the 26-year-old right-hander was stuck and sending Dodger Stadium into an uproar.

“This is the best we’ve ever seen him,” Padres manager Mike Shildt said later. “I give him a lot of credit. Fastball seemed to have a lot of life. …Threw the secondary when we needed to and we just couldn't put anything together. I thought he would rise to the occasion.”

Perhaps the biggest moment of the game for Yamamoto and the Dodgers came in the third inning. The Japanese star walked the first eight batters he faced with just one walk allowed, but he faced some adversity in the third. After back-to-back singles from Kyle Higashioka and Luis Arraez, who was ready to do the damage? Tatis, of course.

And after Yamamoto fell behind 3-1, the game could have changed in one fell swoop. Instead, Yamamoto made the best pitch of the night, getting Tatis to turn on a slider and into a 5-4-3 double play. The inning is over.

“I was just trying to be aggressive,” Yamamoto said.

From there, Yamamoto put the Padres' hitters in order on a straight fourth and fifth, matching his longest start since coming off the IL on September 10. In doing so, he gave the Dodgers exactly what they needed to beat a Padres team that looked like they had the edge the entire series.

“The team gave this kid so much money not because…this isn't the draft. He doesn’t think he’s going to be great – he’s great,” said Kiké Hernández, who hit the game-winning home run in the second inning. “And what he did tonight, that’s him. And we’re not surprised at all.”

The Dodgers are considered baseball's elite due to their bloated payroll and superstar talent. But make no mistake, what they accomplished in this NLDS was no small feat. San Diego appeared to have the advantage both physically and mentally after Game 3.

But this is where a team that is used to winning and has regularly managed to reach the postseason is so dangerous. Many teams almost gave up after Game 3 and likely gave up the series in Game 4 in a hostile road environment.

“We won the (NL) West, yes. But this team is tough, bro,” Hernández said of the Padres. “They have a stack — not just the rotation, but the lineup and the bullpen and the defense and the way they run the bases and the way they play the game. They’re a tough team to beat in October.”

Still, there isn't a situation or scenario that these Dodgers haven't seen, and that showed in their ability to split up and play a one-game series in Game 4 and again in Game 5. And behind a rock-solid bullpen that held San Diego scoreless in the final 24 innings of the series, they defeated the postseason's best remaining opponent.

“We know we have the ballclub that can come from behind,” said Teoscar Hernández, who hit the Dodgers’ second solo home run in the seventh. “Obviously we didn’t get the results we wanted in the two games we lost, but we keep the same situation in mind as we did at the start of the series.”

This series had a little bit of everything – drama, star power, energy, atmosphere – and there's no denying that it was the most intense series of this postseason yet. So after coming back from a 2-1 deficit, the Dodgers have some momentum as they prepare to take on the red-hot Mets in Game 1 of the NLCS on Sunday.

“It's similar to 2004 when we beat the Yankees when I was a player with the Red Sox,” manager Dave Roberts said after his team's victory. “To get to the World Series is comparable to beating the Braves in 2020. … You’re talking about one of the best baseball teams there. …And it was a dog fight, and I have nothing but respect for those guys over there.

“But to win this series the way we managed to kind of fall behind — and the guys that got into the postseason had a lot of momentum — speaks to the character of our guys. That’s right up there.”