Yoshinobu Yamamoto delivers under pressure in Dodgers' NLDS win

The smallest player on the field at Dodger Stadium looked like he was the tallest.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto was a giant on Friday night.

And to think that the 5-foot-10 right-hander from Japan only started for the Dodgers in Game 5 of their National League Division Series because they didn't think their relievers could throw the ball all game.

Yamamoto turned the Dodgers' expected bullpen game into something more conventional. The three innings he expected to pitch turned into four and eventually five. He never conceded a run.

When the game was over, the Dodgers sprayed each other with champagne and beer in their locker room and celebrated their advance to the NL Championship Series. In the middle of the celebration was Yamamoto, the unlikely record player in the 2-0 win over the San Diego Padres.

Yamamoto was largely inconsistent in his first season with the Dodgers, his adjustment to the major leagues delayed by a shoulder injury that sidelined him for three months. Not what the Dodgers expected from a player they signed to a 12-year, $325 million contract over the winter.

However, Mark Walter, the controlling owner of the Dodgers, stressed: “He showed up tonight.”

With the bottle in his hand and a smile on his face, Walter continued, “Suspense her for five innings. You have to have the courage to do that when you have a little difficulty.”

A little?

Six days earlier, Yamamoto was completely destroyed by the same opponent in the same stadium. He lasted just three innings in Game 1 and was charged with five runs.

“Of course I didn’t get away with it right away,” Yamamoto said in Japanese.

Yamamoto explained that he received words of encouragement from his teammates. When the Dodgers were in San Diego for Games 3 and 4, Yamamoto was invited by Kiké Hernández.

“We talked for about two hours,” Yamamoto said.

Yamamoto added: “I think I owe my performance today to my teammates.”

Hernández said there's a reason the Dodgers invested as much in Yamamoto as they did. He said it's not because he expects to be great one day.

“He’s great,” Hernandez said.

The Dodgers could have started Jack Flaherty. However, Yamamoto was on the same six-day cycle that he was kept on during the regular season. Plus, the Dodgers thought they could rely on a pitcher who was known for his toughness in his home country.

Around this time last year, President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman was watching the Japan Series between the Orix Buffaloes and the Hanshin Tigers. He saw Yamamoto give up a career-worst seven runs in a Game 1 loss, but he also saw Yamamoto react to the setback. In Game 6, Yamamoto threw a complete game of 138 pitches and struck out 14 batters to set a Japan Series record.

Speaking to Yamamoto after his debacle in Game 1 of that division series, Friedman said, “You could get the feeling he wanted the ball.”

Manager Dave Roberts drew attention to Yamamoto's international experience.

“When you're pitching for the WBC, for the country of Japan, that's the highest stakes you can have,” Roberts said.

Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto delivers in the first inning against the Padres on Friday.

(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)

Roberts expected that national pride would once again be a motivating factor for Yamamoto. Opposite him in Game 5 was Yu Darvish, making this postseason game the first time that two Japanese starters appeared. The competition was broadcast live on network television in Japan.

Yamamoto returned to the mound at Dodger Stadium as the new pitcher.

Between starts, the Dodgers had worked with Yamamoto on the positioning of his glove, which they believed told the Padres what pitches he would throw in Game 1. He began Game 5 by retiring the team in order. Yamamoto gave up consecutive singles to Kyle Higashioka and Luis Arráez in the third inning, but forced Fernando Tatis Jr. into a double play.

Yamamoto retired the next six batters to protect the 1-0 lead given to him by his muse Hernández with a home run. Before Yamamoto reached the dugout steps in the middle of the fifth inning, Roberts gave him a big hug. Yamamoto had thrown only 63 pitches, but Roberts was aware that he had not pitched in the sixth inning since blanking the New York Yankees over seven innings on June 7. His night was over, at least on the hill.

Later in the clubhouse, Yamamoto was reflecting on his night when Shohei Ohtani approached him with a bottle of champagne pointed in his direction. Ohtani emptied the contents of the bottle onto Yamamoto.

“It was overwhelming,” Ohtani said in Japanese. “It was the kind of pitching that overwhelmed and didn’t let the opponent get to him.”

Yamamoto, an extremely light drinker, said even the magnitude of this victory could not persuade him to drink any of the adult beverages provided to the players.

However, he joked: “The alcohol got into me through my skin.”

In that moment, the ups and downs of the last six months were forgotten. If a disastrous October performance can diminish a player's regular-season successes, the opposite must also be true: a memorable playoff game can minimize a player's regular-season failures.

On Friday night, Yoshinobu Yamamoto was a hero.