Dodgers players celebrate after they defeated the San Diego Padres, 2-0, in Game 5 of their National League Division Series on Friday night at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers advanced to the NL Championship Series against the New York Mets. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Orange County Register/SCNG) Dodgers starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto throws to the plate during the first inning of Game 5 of their National League Division Series against the San Diego Padres on Friday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Orange County Register/SCNG) San Diego Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr. walks back toward the dugout after striking out swinging during the first inning of Game 5 of their National League Division Series against the Dodgers on Friday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Orange County Register/SCNG) Dodgers fans cheer before Game 5 of the National League Division Series between the Dodgers and the San Diego Padres on Friday at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Orange County Register/SCNG) Dodgers second baseman Gavin Lux fields a baseball before throwing out the San Diego Padres’ Jurickson Profar (not pictured) during the first inning of Game 5 of their National League Division Series on Friday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Orange County Register/SCNG) Dodgers fans cheer before Game 5 of the National League Division Series between the Dodgers and the San Diego Padres on Friday at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Orange County Register/SCNG) The Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman hits a single during the first inning of Game 5 of their National League Division Series against the San Diego Padres on Friday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Orange County Register/SCNG) The Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman hobbles to first base after hitting a single during the first inning of Game 5 of their National League Division Series against the San Diego Padres on Friday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Orange County Register/SCNG) The Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman hobbles to first base after hitting a single during the first inning of Game 5 of their National League Division Series against the San Diego Padres on Friday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Orange County Register/SCNG) San Diego Padres starting pitcher Yu Darvish throws to the plate during the second inning of Game 5 of their National League Division Series against the Dodgers on Friday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Orange County Register/SCNG) The Dodgers’ Kike Hernandez hits a solo home run during the second inning of Game 5 of their National League Division Series against the San Diego Padres on Friday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Orange County Register/SCNG) The Dodgers’ Kike Hernandez watches the flight of his solo home run during the second inning of Game 5 of their National League Division Series against the San Diego Padres on Friday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Orange County Register/SCNG) The Dodgers’ Kike Hernandez watches the flight of his solo home run during the second inning of Game 5 of their National League Division Series against the San Diego Padres on Friday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Orange County Register/SCNG) The Dodgers’ Kike Hernandez celebrates as he runs the bases after hitting a solo home run during the second inning of Game 5 of their National League Division Series against the San Diego Padres on Friday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Orange County Register/SCNG) The Dodgers’ Kike Hernandez runs the bases after hitting a solo home run during the second inning of Game 5 of their National League Division Series against the San Diego Padres on Friday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Orange County Register/SCNG) Kiki Hernandez #8 celebrates with teammates Shohei Ohtani and Teoscar Hernández #37 of the Los Angeles Dodgers after hitting a solo home run against the San Diego Padres in the second inning of game 5 of a National League Division Series playoff baseball game at Dodger Stadium on Friday, Oct. 11, 2024. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Orange County register/ SCNG) The Dodgers’ Kike Hernandez, right, celebrates with teammates Mookie Betts, left, and Shohei Ohtani as he returns to the dugout after hitting a solo home run during the second inning of Game 5 of their National League Division Series against the San Diego Padres on Friday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Orange County Register/SCNG) The Dodgers’ Kike Hernandez (8) celebrates with teammates Mookie Betts, left, and Shohei Ohtani as he returns to the dugout after hitting a solo home run during the second inning of Game 5 of their National League Division Series against the San Diego Padres on Friday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Orange County Register/SCNG) San Diego Padres starting pitcher Yu Darvish reacts after getting the Dodgers’ Will Smith (not pictured) to hit into a double play during the second inning of Game 5 of their National League Division Series on Friday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Orange County Register/SCNG) The Dodgers’ Kike Hernandez (8) celebrates with teammates Shohei Ohtani, left, and Teoscar Hernandez as he returns to the dugout after hitting a solo home run during the second inning of Game 5 of their National League Division Series against the San Diego Padres on Friday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Orange County Register/SCNG) Dodgers starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto celebrates after getting the San Diego Padres’ Fernando Tatis Jr. (not pictured) to hit into a double play during the third inning of Game 5 of their National League Division Series on Friday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Orange County Register/SCNG) The San Diego Padres’ Jake Cronenworth waits for his glove to be brough to him after the top of the third inning of Game 5 of their National League Division Series against the Dodgers on Friday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Orange County Register/SCNG) San Diego Padres starting pitcher Yu Darvish throws to the plate during the third inning of Game 5 of their National League Division Series against the Dodgers on Friday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Orange County Register/SCNG) Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani drops his bat after flying out during the third inning of Game 5 of their National League Division Series against the San Diego Padres on Friday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Orange County Register/SCNG) Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani watches from the dugout during the fourth inning of Game 5 of their National League Division Series against the San Diego Padres on Friday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Orange County Register/SCNG) Dodgers relief pitcher Evan Phillips throws to the plate during the sixth inning of Game 5 of their National League Division Series against the San Diego Padres on Friday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Orange County Register/SCNG) Dodgers relief pitcher Evan Phillips acknowledges the crowd after being removed during the seventh inning of Game 5 of their National League Division Series against the San Diego Padres on Friday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Orange County Register/SCNG) Dodgers relief pitcher Alex Vesia celebrates after striking out the San Diego Padres’ Jackson Merrrill (not pictured) to end the top of the seventh inning of Game 5 of their National League Division Series on Friday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Orange County Register/SCNG) Dodgers relief pitcher Alex Vesia celebrates after striking out the San Diego Padres’ Jackson Merrrill (not pictured) to end the top of the seventh inning of Game 5 of their National League Division Series on Friday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Orange County Register/SCNG) Dodgers relief pitcher Alex Vesia celebrates after striking out the San Diego Padres’ Jackson Merrrill (not pictured) to end the top of the seventh inning of Game 5 of their National League Division Series on Friday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Orange County Register/SCNG) The Dodgers’ Teoscar Hernández and San Diego Padres starting pitcher Yu Darvish watch the flight of Hernandez’s solo home run during the seventh inning of Game 5 of their National League Division Series on Friday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Orange County Register/SCNG) The Dodgers’ Teoscar Hernández watches the flight of his solo home run during the seventh inning of Game 5 of their National League Division Series against the San Diego Padres on Friday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Orange County Register/SCNG) The Dodgers’ Teoscar Hernández, left, runs the bases after hitting a solo home run off of San Diego Padres starting pitcher Yu Darvish, front, during the seventh inning of Game 5 of their National League Division Series on Friday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Orange County Register/SCNG) The Dodgers’ Teoscar Hernández gestures as he runs the bases after hitting a solo home run during the seventh inning of Game 5 of their National League Division Series against the San Diego Padres on Friday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Orange County Register/SCNG) The Dodgers’ Teoscar Hernández, left, celebrates with teammate Will Smith after hitting a solo home run during the seventh inning of Game 5 of their National League Division Series against the San Diego Padres on Friday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Orange County Register/SCNG) The Dodgers’ Teoscar Hernández, left, is showered with sunflower seeds by teammates Miguel Rojas, center, and Mookie Betts as he returns to the dugout after hitting a solo home run during the seventh inning of Game 5 of their National League Division Series against the San Diego Padres on Friday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Orange County Register/SCNG) The Dodgers’ Teoscar Hernández, left, is showered with sunflower seeds by teammates Miguel Rojas, center, and Mookie Betts as he returns to the dugout after hitting a solo home run during the seventh inning of Game 5 of their National League Division Series against the San Diego Padres on Friday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Orange County Register/SCNG) Dodgers relief pitcher Michael Kopech celebrates after striking out the San Diego Padres’ Jake Cronenworth (not pictured) to end the top of the eighth inning of Game 5 of their National League Division Series on Friday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Orange County Register/SCNG) Dodgers relief pitcher Michael Kopech celebrates after striking out the San Diego Padres’ Jake Cronenworth (not pictured) to end the top of the eighth inning of Game 5 of their National League Division Series on Friday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Orange County Register/SCNG) The San Diego Padres’ Fernando Tatis Jr., right, grounds out for the final out of the game as Dodgers relief pitcher Blake Treinen looks on during the ninth inning of the Dodgers’ 2-0 victory in Game 5 of their National League Division Series on Friday night at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers advanced to the NL Championship Series against the New York Mets. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Orange County Register/SCNG) Dodgers relief pitcher Blake Treinen celebrates after the final out of their 2-0 victory over the San Diego Padres in Game 5 of their National League Division Series on Friday night at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers advanced to the NL Championship Series against the New York Mets. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Orange County Register/SCNG) Dodgers players celebrate after they defeated the San Diego Padres, 2-0, in Game 5 of their National League Division Series on Friday night at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers advanced to the NL Championship Series against the New York Mets. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Orange County Register/SCNG) Dodgers pitcher Jack Flaherty, left, and teammate Teoscar Hernández begin to celebrate as they run on to the field after their 2-0 victory over the San Diego Padres in Game 5 of their National League Division Series on Friday night at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers advanced to the NL Championship Series against the New York Mets. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Orange County Register/SCNG) Dodgers players celebrate after they defeated the San Diego Padres, 2-0, in Game 5 of their National League Division Series on Friday night at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers advanced to the NL Championship Series against the New York Mets. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Orange County Register/SCNG) Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani, center, along with teammate Teoscar Hernández, right, shake hands with relief pitcher Blake Treinen (49) after they defeated the San Diego Padres, 2-0, in Game 5 of their National League Division Series on Friday night at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers advanced to the NL Championship Series against the New York Mets. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Orange County Register/SCNG) Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani, top center, and Teoscar Hernández, right, hug relief pitcher Blake Treinen (49) as the Dodgers celebrate after they defeated the San Diego Padres, 2-0, in Game 5 of their National League Division Series on Friday night at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers advanced to the NL Championship Series against the New York Mets. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Orange County Register/SCNG) Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani, top center, and Teoscar Hernández, right, hug relief pitcher Blake Treinen (49) as the Dodgers celebrate after they defeated the San Diego Padres, 2-0, in Game 5 of their National League Division Series on Friday night at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers advanced to the NL Championship Series against the New York Mets. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Orange County Register/SCNG) Dodgers players celebrate after they defeated the San Diego Padres, 2-0, in Game 5 of their National League Division Series on Friday night at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers advanced to the NL Championship Series against the New York Mets. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Orange County Register/SCNG) Dodgers stars Shohei Ohtani, left, and Freddie Freeman, right, high-five as the team celebrates after they defeated the San Diego Padres, 2-0, in Game 5 of their National League Division Series on Friday night at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers advanced to the NL Championship Series against the New York Mets. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Orange County Register/SCNG) Dodgers infielders Max Muncy, right, and Kike Hernández embrace after the final out of their 2-0 victory over the San Diego Padres in Game 5 of their National League Division Series on Friday night at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers advanced to the NL Championship Series against the New York Mets. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Orange County Register/SCNG) The Dodgers’ Kike Hernández, left, and teammate Max Muncy celebrate after their 2-0 victory over the San Diego Padres in Game 5 of their National League Division Series on Friday night at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers advanced to the NL Championship Series against the New York Mets. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Orange County Register/SCNG) Dodgers players celebrate after they defeated the San Diego Padres, 2-0, in Game 5 of their National League Division Series on Friday night at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers advanced to the NL Championship Series against the New York Mets. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Orange County Register/SCNG) Dodgers pitcher Jack Flaherty, right, celebrates with family and friends after their 2-0 victory over the San Diego Padres in Game 5 of their National League Division Series on Friday night at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers advanced to the NL Championship Series against the New York Mets. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Orange County Register/SCNG) Dodgers fans cheer before Game 5 of the National League Division Series between the Dodgers and the San Diego Padres on Friday at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Orange County Register/SCNG) Show Caption1 of 54Dodgers players celebrate after they defeated the San Diego Padres, 2-0, in Game 5 of their National League Division Series on Friday night at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers advanced to the NL Championship Series against the New York Mets. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Orange County Register/SCNG) Expand LOS ANGELES — October is no longer the shortest month on the Dodgers’ calendar. Exorcising some of their postseason demons – oh, there are more – the Dodgers fought their way out of the Division Series round for the first time since 2021 on Friday night, tightrope-walking their way to a 2-0 victory over the San Diego Padres in a winner-take-all Game 5. Solo home runs from Kiké Hernandez in the second inning and Teoscar Hernandez in the seventh (both off of Yu Darvish) were the only runs of the game. But the Dodgers finished the series holding the Padres scoreless over the final 24 innings. “(Yoshinobu) Yamamoto was filthy Yamamoto tonight,” utility man Kiké Hernandez recapped. “He got a quick 1-2-3. Then another 1-2-3, another zero. Homer. Zero, zero, zero, zero, zero, zero, zero, homer, zero, zero. We win.” By winning back-to-back elimination games – Game 4 in San Diego, Game 5 in L.A. – the Dodgers advance to the National League Championship Series for the sixth time in the past nine years under Manager Dave Roberts. The Dodgers are now 6-2 in winner-take-all games with Roberts as manager. “I thought he was surgical in Game 4 and Game 5,” Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said. “I thought he had the right feel and pulse for when to make a move, who to go to, and even with that (Alex) Vesia had the soreness in the oblique and he didn’t miss a beat.” The best-of-seven NLCS will start Sunday night at Dodger Stadium with Game 1 against the New York Mets. Game time is 5:15 p.m. Dodger Stadium might have drawn a different kind of crowd – one carrying pitchforks and torches – if the Dodgers had failed to advance out of the NLDS round for a third consecutive year. “We have such a fan base and we love that. The expectations are super high. We love that as well,” Friedman said, calling the past two years “a little bit of a DS funk.” “And whenever we fall short of that, there’s a lot of blame to go around and a lot of disappointed people. We would much rather that than people not caring. The theater of October baseball is all outcome-based. If you have a good outcome, positive things are said and written. If you have a bad outcome, really bad things are said and written.” A lot was written about how the Padres strutted and taunted their way through a Game 2 victory at Dodger Stadium. By the time the series returned to L.A. for Game 5, the Dodgers had stolen their mojo. The Padres did not score a run in the final 24 innings of the series, batting .136 (11 for 81) over that time while facing 10 of the 13 pitchers on the Dodgers’ NLDS roster. It is the longest scoreless streak by a Dodgers staff in their postseason history. The final 19 Padres were retired in order. “You can have whatever plan or script people can talk about, but it comes down to the players and those guys made plays, made pitches and made us all look good,” Roberts said. “If you’re talking about a series MVP, it’s our bullpen, clearly.” Emboldened by the shutout success of that group in their ‘bullpen game’ in Game 4, the Dodgers played a shell game before announcing their starting pitcher for Game 5. It could be another bullpen game, Roberts said. It could be Yamamoto with an opener, he said. In the end, the Dodgers decided against asking Yamamoto to do something he had never done before (entering a game in progress) – nor did they want to send the vote of no-confidence it would have been to a pitcher they have signed for another 11 years. So Yamamoto took the mound for Game 5 with an expectation that he would be wearing a very short leash. Yamamoto never strayed. He retired the first five Padres he faced and the last seven in five scoreless innings. The Padres hit six balls with exit velocities of 100 mph or higher – only one of them was a hit. Manny Machado hit 725 feet worth of fly balls in his two at-bats against Yamamoto. Both ended in Mookie Betts’ glove on the warning track in right field. “Hats off to him. He really bounced back,” Dodgers pitching coach Mark Prior said. “He was wearing what he did in the first one (five runs in three innings in Game 1). He was emotional about it – felt like he didn’t do his job. Everybody was there to pump him up and support him. That happens. Even the best names in the game have had tough times in the playoffs. “But he came out with a different level of intensity. He was aggressive, put them on the defensive instead of him being on the defensive. He put us in position where we could roll with three or four guys. If he doesn’t do that, you’re opening up the potential for more variables and another guy to maybe not have a perfect night.” Yamamoto ran into trouble just once. Kyle Higashioka and Luis Arraez had back-to-back singles in the third inning – the only hits Yamamoto allowed. That brought up Fernando Tatis Jr. He hit a 101.8 mph ground ball right at third baseman Max Muncy who started an inning-ending double play. “It was huge,” Dodgers catcher Will Smith said. “One out, Tatis, their best hitter up. He got to us this series but we were able to get the double play. Stay up 1-0. That was huge.” Yamamoto left the mound after the fifth inning with that 1-0 lead Kiké Hernandez gave the Dodgers in the second inning when he ambushed a first-pitch fastball from Darvish. “Before the game I was talking with the hitting guys and I was like, ‘I think we gotta be on the fastball against Yu,’” Kiké Hernandez said. “He’s got way too many pitches to cover and if you’re sitting off-speed, he’s got like five off-speed pitches. They were pretty strong with their feelings about disagreeing with me. I’m glad I proved them wrong.” The home run was Hernandez’s 14th in 75 postseason games. A career .238 hitter with a .713 OPS in the regular season, he is a different player in the postseason – one who hits .277 with an .899 OPS. “We brought him here for October so it doesn’t surprise us to see what he did,” Friedman said. “He said before the game he was going to win this game for us. He’s able to back up a lot of his talk.” With that, the Dodgers had won the race to get a lead against the opposing team’s starting pitcher. The lead never changed hands after the third inning in any game in this series. Related Articles Los Angeles Dodgers | Alexander: The Dodgers banish the ghosts, and the Padres Los Angeles Dodgers | Dodgers’ Kiké Hernandez once again demonstrates how he’s built for October Los Angeles Dodgers | NLDS Game 5: Dodgers vs. Padres, lineups, starting pitchers, TV info Los Angeles Dodgers | Shohei Ohtani and Dodgers ready for challenge of Padres’ Yu Darvish in NLDS Game 5 Los Angeles Dodgers | Dodgers will start Yoshinobu Yamamoto in Game 5 of NLDS against Padres The Dodgers’ bullpen reprised their Game 4 masterpiece to make sure that stayed true through Game 5. Evan Phillips followed Yamamoto, faced five batters and retired them all, three on strikeouts, rolling through the top half of the Padres’ lineup. Vesia struck out Jackson Merrill to end the seventh inning and went out to start the eighth inning. But he stopped his warmups with pain in his side and left the mound with a trainer. Vesia will get an MRI on Saturday. Roberts said he will be “crossing my fingers” that it’s not a serious oblique or intercostal injury. Teoscar Hernandez had doubled the Dodgers’ lead by then, sending a hanging slider into the left-field pavilion. Darvish retired 14 consecutive Dodgers between the two solo home runs. Michael Kopech stepped in when Vesia went down and retired the side in the eighth, finishing off Jake Cronenworth with a 102-mph fastball. Blake Treinen finished it off in the ninth. “This is all our pitching staff,” first baseman Freddie Freeman said. “They’re the reason why we’re celebrating right now. That’s 24 straight innings of nothing given up. That’s the reason why we’re here.”