While the New York Mets enjoy some much-needed rest, all eyes are on the Los Angeles Dodgers (98-64) and San Diego Padres (93-69), who face off in the decisive fifth game of the NLDS that advances to the NLCS. The winning team has home field advantage over the Mets in this series. Game one is scheduled for Sunday night at 8:15 p.m. ET and game two is scheduled for Monday afternoon at 4:08 p.m. ET before heading back to Citi Field.

Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

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 PM ET • Dodger Stadium • Los Angeles, CA

These two teams last faced each other in the postseason in 2022. San Diego, which defeated the Mets in the Wild Card Series that year, dethroned the No. 1 seed Dodgers in four games in the NLDS before being edged out in five games by the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLCS. The Dodgers defeated the Padres in the NLDS in 2020 before ultimately winning the World Series over the Tampa Bay Rays.

San Diego beat Los Angeles in the regular season with a record of 8-5 on the year. The pitching duel between Darvish and Yamamoto marks the first time Japanese-born starters will face each other in an MLB playoff game.

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

Yamamoto, who was courted by the Mets last offseason as a free agent from Nippon Professional Baseball, signed a 12-year contract with Los Angeles worth $325 million, the largest for a pitcher in league history. The 26-year-old posted a 3.00 ERA in 18 starts in his rookie season, but spent nearly three months on the injured list with a rotator cuff strain before returning in September. Yamamoto gave up five earned runs over three innings in Game 1 against San Diego last Saturday, but the Dodgers secured a 7-5 win.

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

Padres lineup

1. Luis Arraez – 1B
2. Fernando Tatis Jr. – RF
3. Jurickson Profar – LF
4. Manny Machado – 3B
5. Jackson Merrill – C.F
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 Hernandez –LF
5. Max Muncy – 3B
6. Will Smith – C
7. Enrique Hernandez – C.F
8. Gavin Lux – 2B
9. Tommy Edman – SS