Dodgers teammates supported Yoshinobu Yamamoto; He topped them in Game 5

LOS ANGELES — In the days following the loss, several members of the Los Angeles Dodgers reached out to Yoshinobu Yamamoto. With the weight of a Game 1 failure in the National League Division Series hanging on his shoulders, his pain was palpable to a group that didn't speak his language. A procession of teammates tried to lift his spirits. He heard from pitchers and catchers, infielders and outfielders, coaches and executives, all offering some version of the same message.

“He's one of the best pitchers in the world,” backup catcher Austin Barnes said.

“Everybody wrapped their arms around him,” pitching coach Mark Pryor said.

“Once in a while,” said injury veteran Clayton Kershaw, “you just have to remind him: You're a stud. You might be a rookie. But you're a stud.”

On Friday night, in a game with little room for error, against an opponent who came close to ruining his inaugural season in Major League Baseball, Yamamoto looked the part. He allowed just two hits over five innings while quieting a relentless San Diego Padres lineup in a 2-0 Game 5 victory. He has outlived his friend, countryman and childhood inspiration Yu Darvish. Yamamoto helped the Dodgers come back from a 2-1 deficit to extend a streak of 24 scoreless innings and set up a tie with the New York Mets in the National League Championship Series.

The Mets were considered a possible destination for Yamamoto, a 26-year-old right-hander, when he was posted by the Oryx Buffaloes last winter. The Dodgers won the bidding war with a 12-year, $325 million contract in addition to a $50 million posting fee. His rookie season was colored by success, adjustments and a shoulder injury. His hands are small. Her frame is slight. His build could only intimidate the sales clerk at GapKids. In Game 5, he still demonstrated exactly why the Dodgers outperformed the rest of the industry and handed Yamamoto the biggest contract ever for a pitcher.

“This kid didn't get the money he got because of his potential,” Hernandez told Utility Man Kick. “This is not a draft. He got the money because of who he is, and who he is out there tonight.”

The Dodgers configured their patchwork rotation for a night like this. Yamamoto started Game 1 because the team wanted to make him available for a possible Game 5. He does not pitch on the traditional American baseball schedule; Most of his outings this season have come on five or more days of rest. Yet the team didn't commit to him as the Game 5 starter until Thursday afternoon after days of discussions.

Their concerns stemmed from Yamamoto's breakout season and his struggles against San Diego. He missed all of July and August with a strained rotator cuff. After returning in September, he pitched just once beyond the fourth inning. He was pilloried by the Padres in his debut in the Seoul Series in March. In Game 1 last week, he logged just three innings and surrendered five runs, getting tagged for extra-base hits by Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado when he wasn't nibbling around the strike zone. The Dodgers came back to win, but Yamamoto looked humiliated by his teammates.

“He was really confused after Game 1,” president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said. “He felt the weight of letting down his teammates, the city, the entire Dodger nation.”

The rest of the team noticed his displeasure. He heard from them during the intervening games in Los Angeles and San Diego. After the Dodgers used eight relievers to win Game 4, manager Dave Roberts asked Yamamoto to prepare for Game 5. The team discussed using a reliever in front of him, specifically to target the right-handed pairing of Tatis and Machado. In the end, the club decided not to mess with Yamamoto, who had never pitched behind an opener.

No trick, no trick, no bullpen game will redux. Yamamoto was needed to keep their season alive.

“At the end of the day,” Roberts said before the game, “we're betting on a guy to pitch the game of his life.”

In reality, the Dodgers would have been happy with a three-inning outing. The bullpen was prepared. Game 2 starter Jack Flaherty was also available. The team identified an obvious tipping point for considering pulling Yamamoto: Tatis' second at-bat.

Tatis tattoo Dodgers starter all series. He hit a double off Yamamoto in Game 1 and a homer off Flaherty in Game 2 and another homer off Walker Buehler in Game 3. Yamamoto chose to attack him in Game 5 Tatis hung on a slider for a strikeout in the first inning Yamamoto continued to challenge San Diego hitters as he moved through the lineup. His fastball sat at 97 mph. He also experienced some good luck: The Padres hit six balls with an exit velocity of 100 mph or more and only gave up one hit. “He gave us more pitches to hit, but we just hit a few guys,” Padres shortstop Xander Bogaerts said.

The hit in the third inning came from catcher Kyle Higashioka, who hit 97 mph for a single. Luis Arraz lined a first-pitch fastball to right for another single. The speed of the order created an alarming situation for the Dodgers, as Tatis came to the plate with runners on. There wasn't enough time for Roberts to summon a reliever. He needed Yamamoto to quell the threat.

Yamamoto missed Low with a slider before looking at a curveball for a strike. He threw two more breaking balls down the zone. Catcher Will Smith signaled for a 3-1 slider. “It's tough out,” Smith said. “You have to execute. I just felt the slider working.” The pitch dove under Tatis' shins. He's still swinging. A grounder rolls toward third baseman Max Muncy for an inning-ending, lead-saving, season-extending double play.

Yamamoto did not allow another base runner. With Evan Phillips warming up in the fifth inning, Yamamoto retired the side in relief. His final pitch was another 97 mph fastball. After Padres infielder Jack Cronenworth grounded out, Yamamoto exited to a standing ovation. Roberts met Yamamoto on the top step of the dugout. The manager wrapped his pitcher in a hug.

“I believed him,” Roberts said. “I knew he was going to rise to the occasion.”

Yamamoto watched from the dugout as relievers pounded on the door in San Diego. He joined the jubilant mosh pit near the mound after Blake Treinen recorded the final out. Yamamoto stood on the edge of celebration and kept punching his teammates on the back, until they realized it was him. Then he stepped into the center of the crowd, surrounded by the group that had roused him from his despair earlier in the series.

“What he did tonight was he gave us everything he had,” Burns said. “It was one of the best-pitched games I've ever seen — against a really tough f—ing lineup. He is great. We couldn't ask for anything more.”

(Top photo of Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Will Smith: (Harry Howe/Getty Images)