Yamamoto Dominates and Hernández Hits Big as Dodgers Clinch NLDS Game 5
Dodgers reliever Blake Treinen, center, celebrates with teammates following the team’s NLDS Game 5 victory over the Padres at Dodger Stadium on Friday night.
Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto celebrates after retiring the side in the third inning.
Teoscar Hernández, left, shares a moment with Shohei Ohtani after hitting a solo home run.
Kiké Hernández celebrates with teammate Mookie Betts after launching a solo home run in the second inning.
Dodgers reliever Alex Vesia celebrates after striking out Jackson Merrill for the final out of the seventh inning. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the $325-million offseason signing the Dodgers counted on for the Game 5 start, set the tone despite a rough outing in Game 1 where he struggled with pitch tipping.
The 26-year-old right-hander began strong, retiring the side in the first inning and stranding a two-out walk in the second. In the third, with the Padres threatening with two runners on and one out, he delivered a 3-and-1 slider that Fernando Tatis Jr. rolled into a double play.
“He was outstanding tonight,” said Roberts. “I knew he wouldn’t shy away from this moment.”
Kiké Hernández also delivered when it mattered, providing the postseason spark the Dodgers hoped for when they re-signed him. In the bottom of the second, after a double play by Will Smith dampened the crowd’s energy, Hernández seized a first-pitch fastball from Padres starter Yu Darvish and launched a solo home run into the upper left-field pavilion. Read More!
