There are plenty of exciting storylines surrounding Game of 5 the Dodgers-Padres NLDS series. Los Angeles, who spent over a billion dollars in free agency, is on the cusp of another early playoff exit if the team cannot beat San Diego. On the flip side, the Padres are hoping to knock off their NL East rivals for the second time in three postseasons.
Oh, and who can forget the rising temperature between the two sides, who have enjoyed plenty of back-and-forth trash talk throughout the first four games of the NLDS.
However, one of the more under-the-radar tidbits of the winner-take-all game is the history that is about to be made on Friday night.
The game marks the first time ever that two Japanese-born starters are going toe-to-toe in the MLB postseason. Yu Darvish has the starting nod for the Padres, while Yoshinobu Yamamoto is on the bump for the Dodgers.
Yu Darvish vs. Yoshinobu Yamamoto will be the first matchup of Japanese-born starting pitchers in MLB postseason history. pic.twitter.com/RrjTZuxX6g
— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) October 11, 2024
There have been a handful of Japanese pitching stars to shine in October throughout the history of baseball. Daisuke Matsuzaka helped the Red Sox win a World Series in 2008. Masahiro Tanaka dazzled for the Yankees in his prime in the MLB playoffs. Darvish himself is making his 13th postseason start.
However, there has never been two Japanese aces going against one another in a playoff baseball game — until now.
Here is more about Darvish and Yamamoto's stats as they get set to make history.
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Yu Darvish stats
Playoff stats
When Darvish takes the bump on Friday night in Los Angeles, it will be his 13th career postseason start.
Darvish was sensational in Game 2 for San Diego earlier in the series. He pitched 7.0 innings, giving up one earned run on three hits, three strikeouts and two walks en route to the win.
In his career, Darvish has been a fairly strong performer in October. Dodgers fans may not agree, as he had two poor showings in the 2017 World Series against the Astros when he was wearing the Dodger blue. Los Angeles lost Game 7 to fall to Houston — a game that Darvish allowed five runs in the first two innings.
Here is a look at his complete playoff numbers entering Friday's Game 7.
| Games | Record | IP | ERA | H | R | ER | K | BB | WHIP |
| 12 | 5-6 | 65.0 | 3.88 | 55 | 30 | 28 | 57 | 14 | 1.062 |
2024 stats
Darvish missed a large portion of the 2024 season for the Padres due to injuries. At the beginning of the season, he was placed on the IL in April due to a neck strain, but returned 15 days later. He went back on the IL in late May with a groin injury, which kept him out until September.
When healthy, Darvish put up strong numbers in his 16 starts. In his last four starts, he went at least five innings and never allowed more than three runs. Outside of a seven-run outing in May against the Yankees, Darvish never gave up more than four earned runs in a start in 2024.
| Games | Record | IP | ERA | H | R | ER | K | BB | WHIP |
| 16 | 7-3 | 81.2 | 3.31 | 65 | 32 | 30 | 78 | 22 | 1.065 |
MORE: Explaining the beef between the Padres, MLB reporter Ken Rosenthal
Where is Yu Darvish from?
Darvish was born and raised in Habikino, a city within the Osaka prefecture in Japan.
He attended high school at Tohoku High School in Sendai, a school known to produce elite baseball talent such as Takashi Saito and Kazuhiro Sasaki.
Darvish began his professional career in the Nippon Professional Baseball league in Japan, the highest level of pro baseball in the country. After seven seasons with the Nippon Ham Fighters, in which he earned two Pacific League MVPs and the Eiji Sawamura Award as the league's best pitcher, he was posted to the MLB, signing a six-year, $60 million with the Rangers.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto stats
Playoff stats
Yamamoto has just one playoff start to his name, which was Game 1 of the series against the Padres. The Dodgers star did not have his best stuff, giving up five runs in three innings, however, the Los Angeles offense picked him up, resulting in a 7-5 win.
| Games | Record | IP | ERA | H | R | ER | K | BB | WHIP |
| 1 | 0-0 | 3.0 | 15.00 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2.333 |
2024 stats
Like Darvish, Yamamoto's 2024 season was hampered by injuries. In his first season in the MLB, the rookie made just 18 starts, as a rotator cuff strain suffered in mid-June caused him to miss the rest of that month and all of July and August. He returned in the second week of September, picking up where he left off with four strong outings before the postseason.
He won't win the NL Rookie of the Year, but it was a solid first season as an MLB starting pitcher.
| Games | Record | IP | ERA | H | R | ER | K | BB | WHIP |
| 18 | 7-2 | 90.0 | 3.00 | 78 | 32 | 30 | 105 | 22 | 1.111 |
Where is Yoshinobu Yamamoto from?
Yamamoto was born and raised in Bizen, a city within the Okayama prefecture in Japan.
The right-handed hurler began his professional career in 2017 as a 19-year-old with the Orix Buffaloes in the Nippon Professional Baseball league. During his seven years with Orix, he won three Pacific League MVPs, three Eiki Sawamura Awards, earned the Japanese Triple Crown three times and helped Orix to a Japan Series championship win in 2022.
He was posted to the MLB last winter, and signed a 12-year, $325 million deal with the Dodgers.
