The shortest player on the field Dodgers Stadium it seemed like he was the biggest.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto was a giant Friday night.
And to think that the 5-foot-10 Japanese right-hander started for Dodgers in Game 5 of their National League Division Series only because they thought their relievers couldn’t pitch the entire game.
Yamamoto transformed the expected bullpen play for the Dodgers into something more conventional. The three innings they were counting on him to pitch became four, then eventually five. He never conceded a point.
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At the end of the game, the Dodgers were spraying sparkling wine and pouring beer on each other in their locker room, celebrating their move to the NL Championship Series. In the middle of the celebration was Yamamoto, the improbable record thrower of the 2-0 victory against the San Diego Padres.
Yamamoto was mostly inconsistent in his first season with the Dodgers, his adjustment to the big leagues delayed by a shoulder injury that kept him sidelined for three months. That’s not what the Dodgers expected from a player they signed this winter to a 12-year, $325 million contract.
However, as Mark Walter, controlling owner of the Dodgers emphasized: “He came tonight.”
Bottle in hand and smile on his face, Walter continued: “Shut them out for five innings. It takes courage to do that when you’re struggling.
A little?
Six days earlier, Yamamoto had been completely destroyed, by the same opponent, in the same stadium. He lasted only three innings in a Game 1 loss and was charged with five runs.
“Of course, I couldn’t get out of it right away,” Yamamoto said in Japanese.
Yamamoto said he received words of encouragement from his teammates. When the Dodgers were in San Diego for Games 3 and 4, Yamamoto was invited by Kiké Hernández.
“We talked for about two hours,” Yamamoto said.
Yamamoto added: “I think I owe my performance today to my teammates.”
Hernández said there was a reason the Dodgers invested as much in Yamamoto as they did. He said it wasn’t because he planned to be great one day in the future.
“He’s great,” Hernández said.
The Dodgers could have started Jack Flaherty. However, Yamamoto was following the same six-day cycle he was kept on during the regular season. Plus, the Dodgers thought they could count on a pitcher known in his home state for his resilience.
This time last year, President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman watched the Japan Series between the Orix Buffaloes and the Hanshin Tigers. He saw Yamamoto give up a career-worst seven points in a Game 1 loss, but he also saw how Yamamoto reacted to the setback. In Game 6, Yamamoto threw a complete game 138 pitches and struck out 14 batters to set a Japan Series record.
Speaking to Yamamoto after his debacle in Game 1 of this division series, Friedman said, “It looked like he wanted the ball.”
Manager Dave Roberts drew attention to Yamamoto’s international experience.
“When you’re running for the WBC, for the country of Japan, those are the highest stakes you can have,” Roberts said.
Roberts believed that national pride would again be a motivating factor for Yamamoto. Yu Darvish was opposite him in Game 5, making this playoff game the first to feature two Japanese starters. The competition was broadcast live in Japan on network television.
Yamamoto returned to the mound at Dodger Stadium as the new pitcher.
Between starts, the Dodgers had worked with Yamamoto on the positioning of his glove, which they believed told the Padres in Game 1 what pitches he was about to throw. He started Game 5 by retiring the team in order. Yamamoto gave up successive singles to Kyle Higashioka and Luis Arráez in the third inning, but forced Fernando Tatis Jr. into a double play.
Learn more: Dodgers overcome recent playoff frustrations in NLDS Game 5 win over Padres
Yamamoto retired the next six batters to protect the 1-0 advantage that was given to him on a home run by his muse, Hernández. Before reaching the steps leading down into the dugout midway through the fifth inning, Yamamoto was hugged tightly by Roberts. Yamamoto had thrown only 63 pitches, but Roberts was aware that he had not pitched in the sixth inning since shutting out the New York Yankees in seven innings on June 7. His night was over, at least on the mound.
Later in the clubhouse, Yamamoto was reliving his night when Shohei Ohtani approached him with a bottle of sparkling wine pointed in his direction. Ohtani emptied the contents of the bottle onto Yamamoto.
“It was overwhelming,” Ohtani said in Japanese. “It was the kind of throw that overflowed and didn’t allow the opponent to get close.”
An extremely light drinker, Yamamoto said even the magnitude of this victory couldn’t push him to imbibe the adult beverages provided to the players.
Learn more: Kiké Hernández renews his reputation for heroism in October: “This guy always gets up”
However, he joked: “The alcohol got under my skin. »
By then, the ups and downs of the previous six months were forgotten. If a disastrous performance in October can diminish a player’s regular season accomplishments, the opposite must also be true: A memorable playoff game can minimize a player’s regular season failures.
Friday night, Yoshinobu Yamamoto was a hero.
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This story was originally published in Los Angeles Times.
