Game 5 of the NLDS between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres will feature an all-Japanese pitching matchup.
The Dodgers made a late Thursday night announcement, naming Yoshinobu Yamamoto as their starter.
Meanwhile, the Padres have tapped Yu Darvish to start in the winner-take-all matchup Friday night at Dodger Stadium.
“I’m really excited that he’s going to perhaps be facing Yoshinobu and being able to see Darvish potentially,” Ohtani said earlier Thursday through an interpreter.
Ohtani had been anticipating the matchup earlier in the series, when Yoshinobu was slated to start Game 2 against Darvish. But the Dodgers switched Yoshinobu to Game 1 instead.
Darvish gave up one run and three hits — all singles — over seven innings in the Padres’ 10-2 win in Game 2. He befuddled Dodgers hitters by using seven different pitches and mixing speeds. He and Yamamoto are good friends, while Darvish was Ohtani’s childhood idol.
“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,” Darvish said through an interpreter.
Darvish was last on the Dodger Stadium mound for an elimination game in the 2017 World Series. He started Game 7 for the Dodgers against the Houston Astros. After just 47 pitches, the Astros led by five runs and went on to win the championship.
“I don’t go focus on that time,” Darvish said. “But maybe it is the experience that I have accumulated up until today that’s making me feel calm right now.”
Yamamato has given up a combined 13 earned runs in three starts against the Padres this season. They jumped on the 26-year-old right-hander for three runs, including a two-run homer by Manny Machado, in the first inning of Game 1.
“It’s just lack of command. When he hasn’t commanded the baseball, he hasn’t been really that good,” Roberts said. “But when he’s convicted and ripping it and attacking hitters with his pitch mix, he’s as good as anyone.”
Yamamoto is the highest-paid pitcher in the majors. He signed a $325 million, 12-year deal with the Dodgers in December, having been recruited by Ohtani, who landed his record $700 million, 10-year deal with the team earlier that month.
Yamamoto allowed a season-high-tying five runs in Game 1, with seven of the 16 batters he faced reaching base. Roberts mentioned afterward that the rookie may have been tipping his pitches.
“I think we’ve cleaned stuff up,” Roberts said, “and, to their credit, they did a good job scouting and stuff like that. But I think overall, kind of where Yoshinobu is at, I feel really comfortable.”
Catch Game 5 on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+ starting at 7:30 p.m. ET / 4:30 p.m. PT.
— with files from Associated Press