The Los Angeles Dodgers are moving on to the National League Championship Series after defeating the San Diego Padres 2-0 in Friday’s Game 5 of the NLDS.
Kiké Hernández homered in the second inning to score what proved to be the winning run. The 33-year-old continued his penchant for coming through in the clutch during the playoffs, as Hernández boasts 14 home runs and a .899 OPS in 188 postseason at-bats compared to a .713 OPS in 3,487 career regular-season at-bats.
“Kiké, when you talk about postseason in whatever sport, you can’t be afraid to fail. And this guy always delivers,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said postgame, according to Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post.
The Dodgers’ NLCS appearance will be their first since 2021, when they lost to the Atlanta Braves in six games.
Los Angeles will take on the New York Mets in the next round, with Game 1 set for Sunday at 8:15 p.m. ET. This will be their first meeting in the NLCS since the Dodgers defeated the Mets in seven games in 1988.
Dodgers right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto and the bullpen combined to hold the Padres to just two hits Friday. San Diego’s bats went frigid at the worst time, failing to score a run over the final 24 innings of the series.
The 24-inning scoreless streak is the longest by a Dodgers pitching staff in postseason history, according to MLB.com’s Sarah Langs.
“It’s tough to sum up. There’s a lot of emotion taking place,” Padres manager Mike Shildt said, per Annie Heilbrunn of the San Diego Union-Tribune. “Obviously, a ton of disappointment in the end result. But nothing but absolute respect and admiration for our entire club. It’s a club that from Day 1 poured everything they had into this, every single guy.”
Dodgers slugger Teoscar Hernández provided some insurance in the bottom of the seventh inning, belting a solo home run off Padres right-hander Yu Darvish. Hernández was Los Angeles’ best hitter in the series, finishing with a pair of home runs, a team-leading seven RBIs, and a 1.067 OPS in five games.
