LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers needed to maintain their pitching choices open heading into Game 5 of the National League Division Series in opposition to the Padres on Friday evening. They made their alternative late Thursday evening.
With their season on the road at Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles will begin right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto. With the Padres calling on Yu Darvish, the winner-take-all Game 5 can have the extra distinction of being the primary MLB postseason matchup between two Japanese-born starting pitchers.
“I think if you look at Yoshinobu, he's on his regular rest,” Dodgers supervisor Dave Roberts mentioned in explaining his determination to make Yamamoto his Game 5 starter. “Jack [Flaherty], it would be a regular rest for him, which is shorter still. We don't have the same as far as bullpen availability as we did, as far as up-downs and all that stuff. So I think that realizing that Yoshinobu is here to be a top-end starter, and this is his time. I feel that we have really viable candidates behind him. But I certainly believe — we all feel good about the decision for him to start.”
(*5*) Darvish mentioned, through interpreter Shingo Horie, hours earlier than the matchup grew to become official. “At a personal level, really good friends with him, as well. And just for us to be able to go out there and pitch on the same day, a playoff game, I think it means a lot.”
This is precisely the kind of sport the Dodgers had in thoughts once they made a 12-year, $325 million dedication to Yamamoto this previous winter, making the right-hander the highest-paid pitcher in Major League historical past.
Yamamoto received three Eiji Sawamura Awards, the equal of the Cy Young Award in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. In his rookie season within the Majors, Yamamoto went 7-2 with a 3.00 ERA in 18 begins. Although he missed a few months with a proper shoulder harm, Yamamoto had a profitable rookie season.
Yamamoto, who can be simply the fifth rookie to start out a winner-take-all sport in Dodgers franchise historical past, becoming a member of Dustin May, Walker Buehler, Fernando Valenzuela and Joe Black.
The one crew Yamamoto has struggled in opposition to, nonetheless, is San Diego. Yamamoto’s first begin within the Majors got here in opposition to the Padres in Seoul, South Korea, and the Padres responded by scoring 5 runs in a single inning in opposition to him. In his second begin in opposition to the Padres, Yamamoto allowed three runs over 5 innings.
Yamamoto’s NLDS Game 1 begin in opposition to the Padres was additionally not spectacular. He allowed 5 runs over three innings and wasn’t fooling any of the Padres’ hitters.
The Dodgers thought Yamamoto is likely to be tipping his pitches after his subpar begin in Game 1. In the times since, Roberts mentioned, the 26-year-old has “cleaned stuff up” and targeted on managing some revelatory tendencies.
The 13.00 ERA Yamamoto has compiled in 9 innings in opposition to the Padres is definitely his highest vs. any crew.
Because of Yamamoto’s struggles in opposition to the Padres, the Dodgers contemplated deploying a bullpen sport on Friday. The Dodgers used eight relievers to stave off elimination in Game 4 on Wednesday. Running the identical playbook was all the time going to be dangerous for the Dodgers, and taxing for the relievers. Right-hander Jack Flaherty was additionally into consideration, but when the Dodgers have been going to make use of a conventional starter, it was all the time going to be the one they invested some huge cash to this winter.
“The Korea start is even hard to really talk about,” Roberts mentioned. “I guess I think over the course, it’s just lack of command. When he hasn’t commanded the baseball, he hasn’t been really that good. But when he’s convicted and ripping it and attacking hitters with his pitch mix, he’s as good as anyone.”
In Game 5, the Dodgers want Yamamoto to be as good as Darvish. Whoever prevails, the pitchers will know they made baseball historical past.
“It gives me a lot of joy, obviously,” Darvish mentioned of the inflow of Japanese expertise in MLB. “I think the level of baseball in Japan has risen, and it's actually showing over here. So it's really good to see all these players that come over here be successful.”
MLB.com reporter/producer Sonja Chen contributed to this report.
