Game Chat: Padres vs. Dodgers, 8:08 p.m.

As the New York Mets enjoy some much-needed rest, all eyes are focused on the Los Angeles Dodgers (98-64) and San Diego Padres (93-69) as they face off in a decisive Game Five in the NLDS that will determine who advances to the NLCS. The winning team will have home-field advantage over the Mets in that series, with Game One set for 8:15 p.m. ET on Sunday night and Game Two scheduled for 4:08 p.m. ET on Monday afternoon before the action heads back to Citi Field.

SAN DIEGO PADRES (2-2) at LOS ANGELES DODGERS (2-2)
RHP Yu Darvish (1-0, 1.29) vs. RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto  (0-0, 15.00)
Oct. 11, 2024 • 8:08 p.m. ET • Dodger Stadium • Los Angeles, CA

These two teams last faced one another during the postseason in 2022. San Diego, who defeated the Mets in the Wild Card Series that year, dethroned the No. 1 seed Dodgers in four games in the NLDS before getting ousted in five games by the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLCS. The Dodgers swept the Padres in the NLDS in 2020 before ultimately winning the World Series over the Tampa Bay Rays.

San Diego took the regular season series over Los Angeles with a record of 8-5 this year. The pitching matchup between Darvish and Yamamoto represents the first instance of Japanese-born starters facing one another in an MLB playoff game.

Darvish, who pitched for the Dodgers in 2017, has a ERA of 2.27 over 15 regular season starts against his former club. He allowed just three hits and one earned run across seven innings against them in a 10-2 Game Two Padres victory last Sunday. The 38-year-old right-hander owns a 3.88 ERA over 65 innings in his postseason career.

Yamamoto, who was courted by the Mets as a free agent from Nippon Professional Baseball last offseason, signed a 12-year deal worth $325 million with Los Angeles that is the largest for a pitcher in league history. The 26-year-old recorded a 3.00 ERA across 18 starts in his rookie campaign, but he spent nearly three months on the injured list with a strained rotator cuff before returning in September. Yamamoto gave up five earned runs over three innings against San Diego in Game One last Saturday, though the Dodgers went on to secure a 7-5 win.

Los Angeles has played 18 winner-take-all games in franchise history and are currently on a three-game winning streak in those situations. The Padres, on the other hand, have played in three contests of that nature and won every single one of them.

Padres Lineup

1. Luis Arráez – 1B
2. Fernando Tatis Jr. – RF
3. Jurickson Profar – LF
4. Manny Machado – 3B
5. Jackson Merrill – CF
6. Xander Bogaerts – SS
7. David Peralta – DH
8. Jake Cronenworth – 2B
9. Kyle Higashioka – C

Dodgers Lineup

1. Shohei Ohtani – DH
2. Mookie Betts – RF
3. Freddie Freeman – 1B
4. Teoscar Hernández – LF
5. Max Muncy – 3B
6. Will Smith – C
7. Enrique Hernández – CF
8. Gavin Lux – 2B
9. Tommy Edman – SS

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