Dodgers shut down rival Padres, 2-0, in Game 5 to advance to dream NLCS matchup with Mets
The San Diego Padres’ bats stayed cold Friday in Los Angeles, which turned out to be a pretty good night for Dodger fans and players named Hernandez.
Both Kiké and Teoscar Hernandez (no relation) went deep as the Dodgers reached the National League Divisional Series with a 2-0 Game 5 win over the rival Padres.
Kiké celebrated the win with an X-rated moment on Fox. When asked by sideline reporter Ken Rosenthal what makes the Dodgers “so good,” Kiké first assured that they were “live on TV.”
When Rosenthal explained that they were indeed live on television, Kiké continued.
“The fact that we don’t care,” he said.
Enrique Hernandez (8) celebrates with shortstop Mookie Betts (50) and design hitter Shohei Ohtani (17) and outfielder Teoscar Hernandez (37) after hitting a solo home run
Outfielder Teoscar Hernandez (37) of Los Angeles Dodgers celebrates a home run
Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman Kiké Hernandez (8) celebrates the win on Friday
Yoshinobu Yamamoto defeated Yu Darvish in a historic playoff match between Japanese-born starters.
Yamamoto allowed two hits in five innings for the Dodgers before being pulled after 63 pitches in a decisive Game 5 between heated rivals meeting in an NL Division Series for the third time in five years.
The Dodgers play Pete Alonso and the New York Mets in the best-of-seven NLCS that begins Sunday night in Los Angeles.
The Dodgers won a decisive Game 5 at home for the first time since winning an NL Division Series against Houston in 1981, after a season split in two following a players’ strike. With the Majors’ best regular-season record of 98–64, they successfully avoided a third consecutive NLDS elimination.
The Padres’ big players went bankrupt when their season was on the line. Three-time batting champion Luis Arraez, Fernando Tatis Jr., Jurickson Profar and Manny Machado were 1 for 14 in Game 5, while San Diego’s final 19 batters were retired.
San Diego Padres center fielder Jackson Merrill, left, looks on next to relief pitcher Jeremiah Estrada, center, and catcher Kyle Higashioka after the loss to the Dodgers in LA
San Diego went scoreless through the final 24 innings of the series, dropping its final two games after taking a 2-1 lead at home.
Yamamoto and Darvish were the first Japanese-born starting pitchers to face each other in Major League playoff history. The 26-year-old Yamamoto was the fifth rookie to start a winner-take-all game in Dodgers history.
Yamamoto handed the ball to a great bullpen that carried the Dodgers during the regular season when their starters were hit hard by injuries. Evan Phillips got five outs and fanned Profar and Machado in the seventh before Alex Vesia whiffed rookie standout Jackson Merrill to end the inning.
Vesia was warming up for the eighth when he left with an injury. Michael Kopech came on and worked a perfect inning before Blake Treinen got three quick outs for his second save of the series.
Tatis grounded out to end it when Kike made the play after moving from center field to third base for the ninth.