Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitches Wednesday in the Dodgers’ 8-4 defeat of the Cincinnati Reds in the Wild Card Series. L.A. advances to face the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL Division Series beginning Saturday.
Ohtani to start on the mound for Dodgers in NLDS.
By MIKEY HIRANO CULROSS
Rafu Sports Editor
The Dodgers got another solid start from their ace and a sorely needed shot in the arm for their beleaguered bullpen on Wednesday, as they completed a sweep of the Cincinnati Reds in the National League Wild Card Series.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto recorded nine strikeouts with two walks, and allowed two runs in a sharp outing, leading L.A. to an 8-4 victory in the best-of-three series. With the win, the Dodgers advance to face the Phillies in the NL Division Series, beginning Saturday in Philadelphia.
An error by right-fielder Teoscar Hernandez in the first inning led to a pair of unearned runs, but Yamamoto steadied himself the rest of the way. The only other threat came in the sixth inning, when Cincinnati loaded the bases on three consecutive singles.
Shohei Ohtani ducks from flying beer and champagne as the Dodgers celebrate after their first-round win.
Yamamoto then induced a ground ball force-out at home, followed by two strikeouts, the last against Reds star Elly De La Cruz. Yamamoto let out a roar after the swing and miss on his curveball.
“My condition wasn’t bad, but it took a little to settle in the game,” Yamamoto said through an interpreter after the game. “I was watching the reaction of the hitters, and that helped me to get back into my groove.”
The Dodgers’ starting rotation has consistently turned in quality outings for the last month or so, and Yamamoto felt it was important to go deep into his first start this postseason. Yamamoto was named the National League Pitcher of the Month for September, during which he struck out 34 opposing batters, allowing just seven hits with a 0.67 ERA in four starts.
“As a starting pitcher, my job is getting as deep into the game as possible,” he said. “Today, I was just trying to bring my everything out there.”
Sasaki dons ski goggles during the champagne celebration.
Shohei Ohtani contributed with an RBI single as the Dodgers scored six in the bottom half of the inning. Mookie Betts went 4-for-5 with three doubles and three RBI in the win. The Reds elected to intentionally walk Ohtani in the seventh – a move several teams have made during this season – setting the stage for another RBI hit by Betts.
“I wouldn’t let Shohei swing either,” Betts said afterwards. “I expect the Phillies to do it. I expect for the rest of the postseason for it to happen. I know, I understand Shohei. I understand the situation of the game. So I just gotta be ready to do my thing.”
In the eighth inning, another nervous performance by the Dodger relievers yielded a pair of runs. For the ninth, manager Dave Roberts handed the ball to Roki Sasaki, who dominated the final three hitters with an 104-mph fastball and a devastating splitter. His electric performance may well have earned him the role of closer for L.A. for the postseason.
Sasaki said he was relieved to have delivered in such a high-pressure situation. “I was pitching in the ninth for the first time, and that made me nervous, but I was able to pitch feeling I had the crowd behind me.”
Roki Sasaki put a jolt into the game with an electrifying ninth inning to close out the game and got a much-needed boost to the Dodger bullpen staff.
“I trust him, and he’s going to be pitching in leverage,” Roberts said. “The more you pitch guys and play guys, you learn more. So, like I said about Yamamoto, I don’t think the moment’s going to be too big for Roki.”
Roberts also confirmed that Ohtani will be the starting pitcher in Game 1 of the NLDS.
Asked how deep into the playoffs his Dodgers can go, Roberts – perhaps still buoyed by the lingering excitement over Sasaki’s performance – said, “I think we can win it all. I think we’re equipped to do that. We certainly have the pedigree. We certainly have the hunger. We’re playing great baseball. And in all honesty, I don’t care who we play. I just want to be the last team standing.”
In Chicago on Thursday, Yu Darvish was pulled from the decisive Game 3 in the second inning of the San Diego Padres’ Wild Card finale against the Cubs. Darvish gave up two runs on just 21 pitches as the Padres saw their season end with a 3-1 loss.
Later that evening in New York, Masataka Yoshida went 2-for-4, but his Boston Red Sox were stymied by a dominant effort by Yankees rookie starter Cam Shlittler and were eliminated from the postseason, 4-0.