LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Dodgers shelled out $1 billion for Japanese talent in the offseason.
Now their investment is paying off in the postseason.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto outdueled Yu Darvish in a historic playoff matchup of starting pitchers from Japan, and the top-seeded Dodgers got home runs from Kiké Hernández and Teoscar Hernández to beat the fourth-seeded San Diego Padres 2-0 on Friday and advance to the National League Championship Series.
“It’s pretty sweet,” Los Angeles first baseman Freddie Freeman said with a smile.
Yamamoto allowed two hits in five innings for the win, getting pulled after 63 pitches in a decisive Game 5 between heated NL West Division rivals who were meeting in an NL Division Series for the third time in five years.