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The Dodgers anointed Shohei Ohtani as the highest-paid player in baseball history last December. In his first postseason game with the Dodgers, the $700-million man delivered: a home run, two hits, two runs scored, three runs driven in.
The Dodgers anointed Yoshinobu Yamamoto as the highest-paid pitcher (outside of Ohtani) in baseball history last December. In his first postseason game with the Dodgers, the $325-million man did not deliver.
Yamamoto put the Dodgers in a 3-0 hole in the first inning. He gave up two more runs in the third. He did not see the fourth.
In the end, none of that mattered. The Dodgers scored more runs in one game Saturday than they did in their entire postseason last year. Their bullpen pitched six shutout innings.
Read more: Plaschke: Take that! Vengeful Dodgers roar in postseason opening win over reeling Padres
The Dodgers broke a six-game postseason losing streak with a 7-5 victory over the San Diego Padres in Game 1 of the National League Division Series.
“Didn’t get an ideal start,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “But guys in the ’pen picked us up, and the offense was relentless with their at-bats.”
Game 2 is Sunday, with hometown star Jack Flaherty scheduled to start for the Dodgers.
“What would, like, 8-year-old me say? It would be pretty cool,” Flaherty said. “So I’m just trying to enjoy it.”
Four days ago, the Padres clinched their trip to the division series by hammering Max Fried, Flaherty’s former teammate at Harvard-Westlake. On Sunday, the Padres — and a packed Dodger Stadium — await Flaherty.
“There’s going to be a lot going on, a lot of excitement with the crowd and the energy that they bring.” Flaherty said. “And you just feed off of it, feed off of every single ounce of it.
“Same way in high school. Same thing. Just a couple more people out there.”
There were more than a couple of people out there on the bases against Yamamato. The first two batters reached base. The third batter drove in a run. The fourth, Manny Machado, homered. In all, Yamamoto faced 16 batters, seven of whom reached base.
Yamamoto gave up five runs — tying his season high — in three innings. After 60 pitches, he was done.
“He was really down,” Ohtani said, “so I’m glad we were able to win.”
The Dodgers trailed 5-3 when Roberts pulled Yamamoto. Did Roberts believe Yamamoto was tiring, or did he believe the Dodgers could not afford to get any further behind?
“Both,” Roberts said. “I thought that there were some misses. I just felt that there was stress. I just thought that they were seeing him well.”
The Dodgers detected that Yamamoto might have been tipping his pitches, allowing San Diego runners on second base to tip the San Diego hitters.
“That’s part of baseball,” Roberts said. “So it’s on us to kind of clean that up and not give away what pitch he’s going to throw.”
Five Dodgers relievers — Ryan Brasier, Alex Vesia, Evan Phillips, Michael Kopech and Blake Treinen — combined to throw the final six innings. In one stretch, the Padres sent 19 men to the plate without getting a hit.
“I went around and talked to all the bullpen before the game today,” third baseman Max Muncy said, “and said, ‘Hey guys, don’t be surprised by any situation, don’t be surprised by any phone call that comes down, no matter what inning, no matter what your role is, be prepared to come in the game and do whatever it takes.’
“And all those guys almost kind of just shoved me off, like, ‘Yeah, we know, we got this.’”
The Dodgers can only hope that Yamamoto’s first postseason in the major leagues follows the course of his last postseason series in Japan.
On the verge of coming to America, Yamamoto took the mound for Game 1 of the Japan Series last fall. He gave up seven runs, a career high, and his Orix Buffaloes lost.
Read more: Shohei Ohtani’s three-run home run helps rally Dodgers past Padres in NLDS Game 1
He pitched again in the series, and brilliantly. He gave up one run, struck out 14 and made 138 pitches. The Buffaloes won.
The Dodgers arranged their rotation so Yamamoto and Flaherty both would be available for a potential Game 5. If the Dodgers’ relievers continue to pitch well, the day off before Game 3 and the day off before Game 5 could allow the team to deploy a string of fresh relievers behind Flaherty, minimizing the need for Yamamoto.
Would the Dodgers really consider skipping the highest-paid pitcher in baseball history in a must-win game? If defeat meant a third consecutive elimination in the division series, they could.
After Saturday’s game, Roberts said Yamamoto was “certainly in play” to make the Game 5 start.
He would be in play to start? Or he would start?
“He’ll probably start,” Roberts said, exhaling after a wild night. “I’m trying to get to Game 2.”
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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