The Los Angeles Dodgers are headed to the National League Championship Series to face the New York Mets.
After four heated NL Division Series showdowns, the Dodgers shut out the division-rival San Diego Padres 2-0 at Dodger Stadium in a win-or-go-home finale.
How did Los Angeles punch its ticket to the championship series? We have you covered with all the action and analysis from the game as well as our takeaways after the final pitch.
Takeaways
Los Angeles Dodgers 2, San Diego Padres 0
Give credit to the Dodgers for showing … resiliency. That hasn’t exactly been their forte in recent postseasons, but they entered this series with a banged-up pitching staff, facing a Padres team that was red hot and brimming with, shall we say, expectations that it would knock off its hated rival. Freddie Freeman was hurt and ineffective, the Padres danced in Game 2, Shohei Ohtani didn’t do much after a home run in Game 1 and the Dodgers had no starting pitcher for Game 4. Yet, they won the series to advance to the NLCS.
Dave Roberts — the often maligned manager — pulled out a masterful game plan in Game 4, using eight different relievers, and then rode Yoshinobu Yamamoto and the bullpen to another shutout in Game 5. Pitching still rules in the postseason — even if you don’t always know where it’s going to come from. As for the Padres, maybe there’s a reason they’ve yet to win an NL West title during this Dodgers reign of dominance: They’re still not as good. — David Schoenfield
At some point late this season, as injuries piled up and doubt surrounded them, the Dodgers adopted the mentality that came to define them: “F— everybody.” Enrique Hernandez expressed it several times through the team’s group chat, but so did others. The mantra, several players in their celebratory clubhouse said, coalesced into resiliency, which manifested when they needed it most.
The Dodgers were without Freddie Freeman or any semblance of a starting pitcher in Game 4 and found a way to win in front of a hostile opposing crowd. In a winner-take-all Game 5, they confronted a magnificent Yu Darvish but got solo home runs from the two Hernandezes, Enrique and Teoscar. Their pitching — led by Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who looked as sharp as the Dodgers could have hoped, and four members of their lights-out bullpen — ensured it was enough. The Dodgers will now move on to the NLCS for the first time since 2021, and it’ll be a battle of vibes — the “OMG” Mets versus the “F— ‘Em” Dodgers. — Alden Gonzalez
