The Dodgers inked Japanese phenom pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto to a 12-year/$325 million deal this past offseason. This was primarily done to give the team a real ace come postseason play.
Amid a season full of injuries and inconsistency, Yamamoto now has a chance to validate the Dodgers’ decision to sign him.
Game 5 of the NLDS will take place Friday evening in Los Angeles. The rubber game between two teams that absolutely despise one another. All four games of the series thus far have featured captivating plays, narratives, and drama. Tonight’s game should be no different.
Pitching for the Padres is Yu Darvish — a legendary figure in his home country of Japan. He’s the guy Shohei Ohtani idolized as a young player. For many Japanese players, Darvish is among the best to ever do it. The entire country of Japan will be tuned in for this contest. It’s surely something Yamamoto will understand when taking the bump in Dodger Stadium.
The pressure will surely be on him. He’s not only going up against one of the most prolific players from his home country, but he’s trying to get LA over the hump and into the NLCS. In the process, Yamamoto will want to prove himself. He gave up five earned runs in Game 1 of this series. Before that versus the Padres, he’s given up a total of eight earned runs in six innings pitched over two other starts.
This game presents a massive opportunity for Yamamoto to truly etch his name into Dodgers lore. It would be massive if he could give the Dodgers five or six good innings before passing the baton to the bullpen. We’ve seen Yamamoto thrive in big-game situations before. In Japan, he notched 14 strikeouts in one game in the country’s equivalent of the World Series. Versus the Yankees in the Bronx earlier this year, he was dominant — throwing seven shutout innings with seven strikeouts and allowing only two hits.
If Yamamoto can help the Dodgers win tonight, and prove to be the ace many hope he can be, the confidence within the clubhouse will be sky-high during a hypothetical round with the New York Mets.
