Watch: Shohei Ohtani and Dave Roberts’ heartwarming gesture to Yoshinobu Yamamoto after five scoreless innings

Japanese ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto came through for the Los Angeles Dodgers in their NLDS decider against the San Diego Padres on Friday. Coming into this game, Yamamoto had previously pitched in Game 1, where he just pitched 3.0 innings where he allowed five earned runs.

However, with the series on the line, Yamamoto threw five scoreless innings at Dodger Stadium, allowing only two hits and striking out two hitters against walking once. After he pitched his fifth inning, the 12-year, $325 million Dodgers signee received a warm reception from the dugout.

Manager Dave Roberts first gave him a warm hug before his teammates gave him a tap on the shoulder for his excellent pitching on the mound under pressure. Shohei Ohtani also greeted him after his impressive outing, making up for a wholesome moment in the dugout at Dodger Stadium.

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Yoshinobu Yamamoto is pitching in the MLB postseason for the first time. Nerves seemingly got to him when he started Game 1. However, in the pivotal Game 5, he proved why he deserved the big bucks.

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Dodgers offense gets some runs on board to complement Yoshinobu Yamamoto's start

While Yamamoto was excellent, so was his fellow countryman and Padres starter Yu Darvish.

Both pitchers were dominant throughout their outings. However, Darvish allowed a solo home run in the second inning to Kike Hernandez, who gave the Dodgers a 1-0 lead in the game.

While Yamamoto ended his stint with five innings, the Padres decided to keep their Japanese ace to pitch longer. That move backfired as Teoscar Hernandez also hit a home run against him in the seventh inning to give the Dodgers a crucial 2-0 lead.

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Overall, Darvish was still impressive on the night, pitching 6.2 innings while allowing only three hits, two of which were long balls.

At the time of writing, the Dodgers are only three outs away from punching their ticket to the NLCS, where they'll face the New York Mets, who defeated the Philadelphia Phillies in their NLDS matchup.

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