For the first time since 2021, the Los Angeles Dodgers will play in the National League Championship Series.
Clinching in front of the best fans in baseball. pic.twitter.com/QDxJYyTZm1
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) October 12, 2024
The Dodgers came back from being down 2-1 in the series to beat the San Diego Padres in five games.
After scoring a combined 43 runs in Games 1-4, Game 5 was a low-scoring pitcher's duel, with the Dodgers winning Game 5 by a score of 2-0.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto started the game for Los Angeles and was much better than his first start of the postseason. Yamamoto pitched five scoreless innings before handing it off to the bullpen.
Enrique Hernandez started the scoring for the Dodgers in the second inning by launching a solo home run off of Padres starter Yu Darvish. It is Hernandez's 14th postseason home run, which is the eighth most among active players.
KIKÉ KNEW. pic.twitter.com/rFcSbEmdPb
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) October 12, 2024
The other Hernandez, Teoscar, knocked Darvish out of the game in the seventh inning with a solo shot of his own. It was Teoscar's second home run of the series.
After Yamamoto departed the game, a combination of Evan Phillips, Alex Vesia, Michael Kopech and Blake Treinen got the last 12 outs of the game without giving up a single hit.
TEOOOOOOOOO! pic.twitter.com/3ndW9snTX5
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) October 12, 2024
The bullpen stepped up and almost single-handedly won the series from the Dodgers. After the Padres had a six-run second in Game 3, they could not score a run for the rest of the series. That is 24 straight innings where the Padres didn't score, with the bullpen pitching 15.2 of those innings.
The bullpen's dominance is even more unbelievable, considering that the Padres had a .263 team batting average, which was the best in MLB. San Diego also had the fewest strikeouts in baseball.
The Dodgers will now face the New York Mets in a best-of-seven series. Los Angeles will have home-field advantage and likely start Jack Flaherty for Game 1 on Sunday.
The Dodgers will look to advance to the World Series for the first time since they won it all in 2020.
More must-reads:
Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!