The Los Angeles Dodgers are returning to the NLCS and will be looking to win their first NL pennant since 2020, when they won the World Series. They advanced here by taking down the San Diego Padres in the NLDS on the strength of a 2-0 win in Game 5 Friday night in a rowdy Dodger Stadium.

In Game 1 of the NLDS, Yamamoto allowed five earned runs and five hits in three innings, which didn't prevent the Dodgers from eking out a 7-5 win at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers proceeded to drop the next two games before blowing out the Padres 8-0 on Wednesday to force a Game 5.

The showdown between Los Angeles Dodgers rookie Yoshinobu Yamamoto and San Diego Padres veteran Yu Darvish in Game 5 of the NLDS on Friday will mark the first matchup between Japanese-born pitchers in MLB postseason history.