Storylines for Padres-Dodgers NLDS Game 5

There is nothing quite like a winner-take-all Game 5, except for maybe a winner-take-all Game 7. Well, we’re getting the former on Friday night at Dodger Stadium.

This Padres-Dodgers NLDS has been tense, taut and chippy: We’ve had players yelling at each other, fans not always acting their best, mammoth homers, fun comebacks and all sorts of things that are lot less relaxed than what you’d expect from Southern California. And now it’s all down to one game.

Here are the five biggest storylines to get you ready for Game 5.

Padres at Dodgers (Series tied, 2-2)
8:08 p.m. ET, FOX
SP: Yu Darvish (SD) vs. Yoshinobu Yamamoto (LAD)

1. How will the Dodgers’ pitching staff possibly hold up?

The Dodgers opted for Yamamoto over Jack Flaherty to start this game, but it’s unlikely they can expect much length out of either one of them. It’s not like they’ve gotten it from anyone else this series, or really any starting pitcher in a while. While it does seem awfully risky to try to use both of them — you have to win this game, sure, but that strategy would put them in a major bind heading into the NLCS — it is unquestionably an all-hands-on-deck game for this staff. We just saw in the Game 4 shutout how well that can work if the Dodgers need it. With the day off Thursday, that bullpen should be rested. They’ll need to be.

2. Can Darvish dominate again?

Darvish missed a wide swath of this season, and the Padres didn’t exactly fall apart without him. But they sure are better with him. They have won all six of his starts since he returned from the injured list on Sept. 4, none better than the last one, when he threw seven innings of one-run ball in Game 2 of this series, a 10-2 win. That was the Darvish of old (the Darvish that Shohei Ohtani grew up admiring) and the best possible version of himself at age 38.

Darvish has a reputation as a shaky postseason pitcher, but that’s largely because of the 2017 World Series, when the Astros infamously wiped him out twice. Outside of that series, he has a 2.92 career ERA in 10 other postseason starts, including 2.53 in five starts with the Padres. Darvish’s last win-or-go-home game at Dodger Stadium was a disaster. This one looks primed to go much better.

3. Dodgers bats vs. Padres’ bullpen aces

The Padres’ bullpen may be the most underrated unit of any team still playing in this postseason. There are four primary guys who stand out the most: Jeremiah Estrada, Jason Adam, Tanner Scott and Robert Suarez. The way things have been going this series, if you come to the plate against any of them, you’re already toast. Their numbers this series have been essentially flawless: 10 innings pitched, zero earned runs, five hits, 11 strikeouts, two walks.

As if the Dodgers didn’t have their hands full with Darvish, all those relievers are fully rested, and only Estrada pitched in Game 4 on Wednesday. The Padres have their ‘A’ bullpen lined up perfectly, meaning manager Mike Shildt can be extremely aggressive in deploying them in Game 5. Can the Dodgers break through … or at least whittle something off these guys?

4. Will Dodgers harness the home-field advantage?

Dodger Stadium is going to be charged on Friday night, for a must-win game against a heated division rival. But will it matter? As much as we want to think of that as a major factor, it often isn’t — and you certainly don’t have to remind Dodgers fans of that. In winner-take-all postseason games, teams playing in their home parks are only 62-66. The Dodgers did win one of those here in the 2021 NL Wild Card Game against the Cardinals, but they lost their last three before that: Game 5 of the 2019 NLDS against the Nationals, Game 7 of the 2017 World Series against the Astros and Game 5 of the 2015 NLDS against the Mets.

The Dodgers, and their fans, understand what’s at stake here: Certainly, the first season with Ohtani, having the season he just had, can’t end at home against the Padres … can it? It’s going to be roaring at first pitch on Friday night, and it’s not going to stop, especially if the home team can get off to a fast start. How loud can laid-back Angelenos get? We’re about to find out.

5. Which superstar has his legendary moment?

There are a lot of potential Hall of Famers who will be on the field Friday night. Mookie Betts. Ohtani. Freddie Freeman (assuming he’s healthy). Manny Machado, probably. Fernando Tatis Jr. — if he keeps playing like he has this series. These are five of the most recognizable names in the sport, all playing to keep their seasons alive and secure their place in postseason lore.

Betts and Freeman have won World Series before, but don’t have an obvious series-clinching moment yet. Machado has been itching to bust out for years; Tatis has an ability to raise his game at the most important possible times. And there is of course Ohtani, who is playing in his first MLB postseason series and looks like he has been waiting his whole life for it: He is as demonstrative and emotional as we have ever seen him, right now.