Kike Hernandez and Teoscar Hernandez both hit solo homers and the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the San Diego Padres 2-0 to advance to the National League Championship Series on Friday.
The two great rivals of the West Division faced each other in a fifth and final game at Dodger Stadium.
For the very first time in postseason history, two Japanese pitchers faced each other on the mound. Yu Darvish was the starter for the Padres, while Yoshinobu Yamamoto was Dave Roberts’ right-hand man for this duel.
The veteran Darvish was the first to give way. In the second inning, Kike Hernandez made short work of his shot and sent the ball 428 feet further to score the first point of the match.
In his second career postseason start, Yamamoto was not intimidated by the Padres. The right-hander allowed just two hits and one walk in five innings on the mound.
For his part, Darvish was still on the mound in the seventh inning. After retiring the first two batters of the inning, Darvish dropped a pitch to Teoscar’s liking. The power hitter also hit a long solo slap at the expense of the Padres right-hander to add an important run to the Dodgers’ lead.
After Yamamoto left, the Dodgers’ next generation got the job done. Evan Phillips, Alex Vesia, Michael Kopech and Blake Treinen were perfect on the mound. The four gunners did not allow a single runner to reach the trails in four innings to allow the Dodgers to join the New York Mets in the Championship Series.
“We’re ready for the next level, and obviously the Mets are playing great baseball,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.
After an explosive start to the series, the Padres’ offense fizzled out at the worst possible times. Mike Shildt’s squad has not scored a single run in the last 24 innings of this series.
Luis Arraez, Fernando Tatis Jr., Jurickson Profar and Manny Machado had just one hit in 14 at-bats as the Padres’ final 19 batters were retired.
“I think it’s appropriate to say I’m stunned,” the Padres manager said.
The Dodgers won a decisive Game 5 at home for the first time since 1981, when they defeated the Houston Astros.
“Every time you smell champagne, it means you’re doing something right,” said Mookie Betts.
“We had a lot of injuries, a lot of ups and a lot of downs. We fight and we continue, Betts said. All season, everyone says the Dodgers are going to win the World Series. And we get to this series, and all of a sudden we’re the underdogs. »
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