Takeaways from Dodgers-Padres Game 5: Two solo shots and gutsy pitching performance send L.A. to NLCS 

The Los Angeles Dodgers have punched their ticket to the National League Championship Series and a date with the upstart New York Mets.

On Friday, the Dodgers downed the San Diego Padres, backed by solo home runs from Enrique Hernandez and Teoscar Hernandez and a gutsy outing by starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, winning Game 5 of the NLDS, 2-0.

Here are three takeaways from the action:

Enrique Hernandez proves he's an all-time postseason gamer

Enrique Hernandez was responsible for the first and perhaps most important run for the Dodgers, hitting a second-inning home run off Yu Darvish, which set the tone for the rest of the game. After going deep, manager Dave Roberts said via the game broadcast that "certain players want the big moment," and the numbers back it up.

Posting a career stat line of .238/.308/.405 with a .713 OPS, Enrique Hernandez doesn't seem like the type to thrive in the playoffs. However, the 33-year-old steps it up in the postseason.

When it comes to playoff standouts, it might take a while to get to Enrique Hernandez's name. However, after going 1-of-3 with a homer in Game 5, he's cemented himself as a clutch playoff performer, slashing .277/.351/.548 with a .899 OPS in 75 games.  

Yamamoto gave Dodgers start they needed

After the bullpen pulled the weight in Game 4, the fate of the Dodgers' season was in Yamamoto's hands, and he delivered. The Japanese star had his first big MLB moment, holding the Padres scoreless through five innings while allowing only two hits off 63 pitches.

Roughed up by the Padres in Game 1, Yamamoto responded on Friday, keeping San Deigo off balance throughout the night despite finishing with only two strikeouts. It was the kind of tone-setting start the Dodgers needed in the biggest spot possible.

According to Greg Harvey of OptaStats, Yamamoto is the first Dodgers pitcher to record 5.0 innings or more shutout innings while allowing two or fewer hits in a winner-take-all scenario. Furthermore, it's a feat only eight pitchers have accomplished in MLB history.

Padres' NLDS loss falls squarely on the offense's shoulders

A victory away from punching their ticket to the NLCS, the Padres failed twice, with a non-existent offense to blame for the historic collapse.

Since scoring six runs in the second inning of Game 3, the Padres went 24 consecutive innings without pushing a run across the plate. Over that stretch, San Diego's one through four hitters, Luis Arraez, Fernando Tatis Jr., Jurickson Profar and Manny Machado, came up woefully small, combining to go 5-of-39.  

Furthermore, after gaining a 2-1 series lead, the table seemed set for the Padres. Shohei Ohtani wasn't much of a factor at the plate for the Dodgers, and L.A. had to rely on its bullpen on the mound in Game 4 and Yamamoto, who San Diego shelled for five earned runs over three innings in Game 1, for Friday's winner-take-all contest.

Instead of capitalizing, the Padres' bats disappeared, and even the best pitching performances wouldn't have saved them.

San Diego is no stranger to recent playoff disappointment, losing in the 2022 NLCS (4-1) and 2020 NLDS (3-0). But blowing the 2024 NLDS to the rival Dodgers, in the fashion it did, is arguably the most devastating playoff loss in the franchise's history.