The right five Dodgers playoff Baseball is back and with it an annual postseason tradition scam is back.
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This is Sax and Cakes in the A app Go with Broway. Dodger legend Steve Sacks is joined by your favorite Dodger pregame host, Tim Kates. If you want to talk Dodgers, get in on the show on eighty six six nine, eighty seven two five seven now. While the Dan Patrick Show streams on the Ihearts radio app. We've been banished to the Internet until this Dodgers playoff run concludes. Here they are broadcasting live on AM five to seven e LA Sports. It's Tim Kates and Steve Sachs.
Seventeen times this season the Dodgers and padres and wearing off. Only number eighteen matters as whoever wins Game five the NLDS tonight moves on to the NLCS. Hi everybody, and welcome in to Sax and Kates in the AM here on A five to seventy LA Sports. I am Tim Kats, joined by two time World Series Champion, Rookie of the Year and one hell of a guy, my favorite number three of all time, Steve Sacks. Saxy, Good morning, Hey Tommy,
how you doing. I'm on tilt right now. To be honest with you, Saxy, I don't know how I feel. I'm emotionally a wreck right now. I feel like this is another postseason where this Dodgers can start again a great run here and go on to the NLCS, or things can go tremendously wrong tonight. I feel like Game seven of the World Series all over again in twenty seventeen, and wouldn't you know it, you Darvish is on the mound pitching per time for the Padres, but not for
the Dodgers like you was in twenty seventeen. I'm emotionally a wreck right now because I don't know what is going to happen tonight. I don't have a feel on this game, and quite frankly, I'm nervous.
Well. I think the best barometer that we can get is to ask missus Kates how you were getting along last night. Did you getty sleep or what? But look, I feel great about it. I feel one eighty opposite of you. I am completely antithetical to your thought process this morning. I think that Dodgers are gonna shove today. I want you Darvish on the mound. If that's the best they got, bring it. It's time. Listen. Darvish is a very streaky pitcher. We all know that he goes
in spurts. He goes great, he goes bad. He's been great lately. It's time for some bad. Okay, this worm will turn and I think it's gonna happen tonight. Which Dodger team are we going to see? Offensively? The team that erupted for eight runs in Game four? Is it going to be the team that struggled to score runs in the first two games of this series? Which you, darbysh are we going to see? Which Yoshi I'moimoto are we going to see for the Dodgers tonight in Game five?
And just a few hours ago, in case you missed it, Dave Roberts and the Dodgers posted it online that Yoshinobu Yamamoto will in fact be the Game five starter tonight against the San Diego Padres. Yesterday at his press conference, he was kind of back and forth, didn't really show his card sax.
He said, everything's on the table. It could be flairt he could be a bullpen game. It could be Yoshi Yamamoto in some capacity, and then hours later we find out that yes, it is gonna be Yamamoto going for Game five and the Dodgers tonight. What's your just initial gut reaction when you hear the twenty six year old, first year in the big leagues Japanese right handers getting the start.
You hang on a second, I'm scratching something down on my pad right here, Another sex prediction come true? Okay, thanks? All right, Look, yeah, I think this is the man. The great thing about this whole thing, tim is you got to realize that, no matter what, you're not gonna see a bad part of Yoshi tonight because the Dodgers aren't gonna let him get there. If he starts scratching that surface, they're gonna yank them and they're gonna bring in the bullpen. That's what they're going to do to you.
So either way, the good point is you're not gonna see a bad Yoshi tonight. The Dodgers won't let it happen.
I just think of this guy that was much heralded coming over from Japan. They signed him to a twelve year, three hundred and twenty five million dollar contract. Making him the highest paid right hander in the history of baseball. Before he even threw a pitch in the United States. His first start was in Seoul, South Korea, against the same Padres team, and he struggled in one inning of work.
He's made three starts against the Padres this year and has struggled early and often in those three starts, and now with a thirteen ERA against the San Diego Padres in those starts. He's getting the start here in game five. And here's Dave Roberts. Let's hear from Dave Roberts, the manager himself, talking about Yamamoto getting the start in game five and he's tipping possibly the pitches in game one.
Yeah, Dave, with Young Moto, I'll comfort you guys that you guys have kind of attacked the tipping issue that you guys may have located in Game one.
I think that we're I think we've cleaned some things up, and so to their credit, they've done a good job of scouting and things like that. But I think that as far as overall kind of where Yoshinobu's at, I feel really comfortable.
I know it's just three stars and one of them was the Korea one, but they have hit him pretty well. What is it the feeling has allowed them to maybe had the good results against Almodo?
I think, you know, the career starts even really hard even talk about I guess I think the I think over the course, it's just lack of command. When when he hasn't commanded the baseball, he hasn't been really that good. But when he's convicted and ripping it and attacking hitters with his pitch mix, he's as good as anyone. And so I think that you know, from Korea to the last one, when you start kind of nibbling and getting behind, that's when he's not at his best.
Dave, when you were looking into you know, whether Yamamoto was tipping what he was doing, was there something that was changing in his delivery, or you know that he doesn't usually do. Is it or is it you know more about kind of controlling and like hiding the tendencies versus making a shift coming back up.
It's a little both. I think that it's a little of just kind of being being aware of it. I think that if we're aware of certain tendencies that we might have, then you can kind of manage it, and so however we decide to go about doing that is what we're going to do. If that makes any sense.
All Right, there's Dave Roberts and what he's alluding to, Saxy is after Game one, which Yoshinoba Yamamoto didn't have his best off. He allowed five runs over three innings and really wasn't fulling anybody up there at the plant and didn't have any command of his off speed pitches. They believe he was tipping pitches, whether he was out of the stretch, his glove placement when he was out of the stretch, whether it was a runner on second
base and he was shifting things up. The padres may have known something and he could have been tipping his pitches.
Yeah, it could have been and it, but I think that's a bit overrated. Sure. Look, if you told me a fastball was coming every single time, would the average be better? Sure, but you got to be able to trust that, and if you're wrong just one time, it could really put a lot much more doubt in your head. A lot of guys don't want to know the pitches because it kind of has a tendency to script or normal way of approaching a pitcher. But look, the overall
thing is I look at his rookie year. He was seven to two with the three e r A in eighteen starts. The overall breadth of what he did with this year was really good. We're going to see what happens when it really is on the line, and this is it. It doesn't get much bigger than this for him. But I think he can do it, and I think it's time. You know that that Darvis, you know, doesn't have his best outing, his experience really pulls well for him.
And that's you, Darvis. He's thirty eight years old, he's been there and done that. The heartbeat is going to be slow, and so he's not going to be up in arms about this thing. As a matter of fact, they asked him about, you know, what his plan of attack for the Dodgers is, and I thought, actually, you Darvish made a very very truthful, great answer when he when he when he answered that question, he says, you
know what, I don't really know yet. I'm going to see how the hitters react to my pitches and then I'll have a better, you know, flare of what they're doing. And that's what catchers do. Catchers can sense every little thing, every little intricate thing that the pitch, that the hitters are doing different being that close to them in the box, and that's kind of what you Darvish does. He goes on the reaction of the hitters, which is I think a brilliant move.
I go back to Game one, in which he had no complaint, no command of his splitter. He was bouncing that pitch and he was struggling to find any austby pitches for strikes, and the padres early on recognized that, and so they were sitting fastball, realizing that that was the only pitch he can get over for a strike in the zone. Everything else they were laying off of because he was bouncing a foot in front of the place. He had a wild pitch and a pass ball. I
don't know if the moment got to him. I don't know if it was pressure. In Game one of the NLDS. I look back at his start, Steve, and I look at the first start in South Korea. Okay, first start in a different country. You know it was different. I kind of throw that one out of the five runs in three innings. I throw that out of the books. But another pressure situation to start was back in June.
He pitched a Yankee Stadium in the opening game of a three game set against the Yankees and went really well. Seven innings, no runs, two hits, struck out seven through one hundred and six pitches. But a lot of people point to that as the game in which he hurt his shoulder, because he then went on the the il for three months with a shoulder injury. But big game pitching, we haven't seen the results, and it's a small sample size, I get it, but we just haven't seen the results.
Y Yeah, don't don't really know yet. And you know, everyone, they're not gonna all be the same. We can't glump them all together because they're very, very drastically different in each start, even though their big time starts, you know when you talk about when everything's on the line. So
we'll see how he reacts tonight. You know. The great thing is Dodgers have the momentum, and I'm holding my keys to winning game five towards the end, of course, but I think I got to nail down today pretty good of what the key has got to be, and I think it looks good for the Dodgers.
I wouldn't have been opposed to the Dodgers Saxee if they would have just said, all right, Yamamoto, we're gonna save for Game one of the NLCS, assuming we get there with the Game five win against the Padres, and we're going to go Flarity in a bullpen game, and that's gonna be our blueprint for Game five. And Yamamoto br guy. Because the Mets, all, he saw him once during the regular season. They don't have a track record
against him, unlike the Padres. They have now seen him three times and most recently last Saturday, and it hit him around pretty good. Let's not put him in a bad situation against the Padres and let's save him for the Mets. I would have rather gone that route.
So would you rather have Flarity tonight?
I would have rather had Jack Flerity get the start tonight and have that bullpen ready to go, lock and loaded in case he gets in any trouble and take it literally batter to batter from the start of the game. Any sign of trouble, a walk, runners on base, it's to the bullpen to get Flarity out of there. There is no leash for anybody tonight, whether it's Yamamoto, but I think Flarity should have been the guy. Again, I look at the three games against the Padres. They hit
him around. Okay, I don't want to make it a fourth. Let's push him to the game one of the nlds, assuming we get there.
Yeah, but I understand that the point's well taken and there's a do you make a very cogent argument, Tim. However, I still think that that you know the percentages, and over time, you know somebody is going to do somebody can't. You can't keep it up in this game all the time unless you're like, you know, you know one of the greatest ever. You know, Sandy Kofax could do it, but I don't know about you know, there's only one of him. So I just think that it's got to
turn for a bit. I go on the per and you know, I know you has been really good. His last six or seven starts, he's been nails. But he's a perfect guy to point this out on because he's very streaky. He's been that way his whole career, and I don't know how long he can keep this up. I think it's about to turn.
You Darvish thirty eight years old, been in the big leagues forever, pitch for the Dodgers in twenty seventeen. As we all unfortunately know, he has pitched in playoff elimination games four times in his career, including two winner take all games. How those teams done when he's got the start in all four of those must win elimination games,
they are zero to four. Wow, are the teams that he's pitched for, including the Padres in Game five of the twenty twenty two NLCS series against the Phillies, and that start he allowed two runs over six innings left with the league before the Phillies came back in one, so not necessarily his fault. But of course we all know one of the other games he pitched was Game seven of the twenty seventeen World Series, in which he gave up five runs over an inning in two thirds.
There you go, in the Dodgers loss to the Houston Astros in the twenty seventeen World Series. So the track record for him in close out elimination games is not very good.
Yeah, so we've we've got to jump ball tonight. I think as far as that goes, I think that's kind
of a wash. I know we're gonna get into more of the other stuff tonight, but I think the Dodgers have kind of unveiled a couple of things that have been really really good for them because they've surprised people with you know, this team is just built to slug, and they certainly are, but with the with the you know, with Tommy Edmond in there, he and Kik and being forced to put these guys in there, they add a
different flare to the team. They maybe not as much danger as far as being able to slug, but they add a lot of other elements to the game that can push them forward, being able to bunt, be add a little bit more speed. They are flexible and their positions where they can go in and out of and I think that really helps the Dodgers, especially when you need it, because this team is strapped as far as injuries go.
When you think of pressure and who it's on here in Game five of this NLDS is the pressure on the Dodgers at home and the expectations and everybody thought this team is going to make a clear run of the World Series, and here they are, and they must win elimination game or is the pressure on the San Diego Padres because they didn't get it done in Game four, but now they have to come to Dodgers Stadium and win Game five.
Look, there's always pressure on the Dodgers because they're expected to win, you know, with the amount of money they spend, with the amount of talent they have, they always they're always expected to win. So they're not ever going to be without the pressure. It's always going to be there to some extent. But I think the Padres are looking this whole thing right now in the landscape and they're thinking, they're thinking, what the heck just happened. I mean, we
were on such a role. We got you know, we got past the first you know, the the uh you know, wild card. We're in here now and we are rolling now and we're on the Dodger and and man this we have them on their heels. And now all of a sudden, boom, the Dodgers just came back with a nice solid, short left hook, and boom they just stagger at them. So these guys are thinking, what the heck just happened? Now we got to go up to LA
and play these guys. I think that I think the Padres are on their heels, and they're they're kind of sitting back there and in the corners of their heart, they're thinking, you know what, the cream comes to the top and and and we haven't even seen all of it yet.
Yeah, I'm interested to see how Manny Machado, how a Jerks and pro farre have, Fernando Tatis Junior and the rest of this lineup, even Jackson Merrill, how do they perform in a must win game, a decisive game five like it is tonight. Have they been in this situation before? How is the heart gonna be gonna be in this game? Are they gonna be too nervous? Are they gonna be
anxious at the plate? Are they gonna be three out of pitches outside of the zone trying to do too much because they don't have the experience, which quite frankly, a lot of these Dodger players see had been through this the bubble in twenty twenty in Arlington and being down three to one to the Atlanta Braves, you know, coming back and winning games in the CSS and the ds IS. Over the years since twenty seventeen on, a lot of these guys have been.
Through this they're in the playoffs. I mean all the time, right, was it twelve years in a row?
Now?
Ye, they're they're not going to be stunned by the moment. They this is something they're expecting, that they understand this, and that's that's a positive for them, no question about it. The experience matters.
Eight six six nine eighty seven two five seventy. How you feeling Dodger fans going in to Game five tonight? And now we know Yoshinobu Yamamoto is your Game five starter against the Padres. Eight six six nine eighty seven two five seventy. Coming up this hour, Ryan Dempster from MLB Network Intentional Talk, longtime big league pitcher, will join us get his thoughts on this Game five pitching matchup
Dodgers Padres. Get a national perspective from him. Coming up at the seven o'clock hour, David Vasse will join us get his thoughts on this Dodgers Padres Game five matchup. He was out at Dodger Stadium for the workouts yesterday for both teams at Dodger Stadium, so we'll get his perspective and yours. Eight six six nine eighty seven two five seventy It's Saxon Kate's and am lead you up to a winner take all Game five of the NLDS right here on your home of the Dodgers a FFI
seventy LA Sports. It's Saxon Kates at am on n five to seventy LA Sports. You're a home of Game five of the NLDS. First pitch coming up tonight at five oh eighty s an earlier. Star Dodger fans, make sure you give yourself plenty of time to get out to Dodgers Stadium, find parking, get into your seats with a nice cold beverage and a Dodger dog. And then once you're done, eaton, get off your seat and get up and stan and cheer on this Dodger team in Game five of the NLDS. He is Steve Sacks, I'm
Tim Kaates. Ryan Dempster from the MLB Network will join us coming up in just a couple of minutes. David Vasse will join us next hour. As we get you ready for this must win Game five of the NLDS,
you Darvish and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. The pitching matchup in this Game five quite Frankly, as much as I'm worried about Yamamoto starting Game five tonight Saxy, when the season started and he got the opening start again sold against the Padres, I kind of always felt all along, if he's gonna stay healthy this year, this is gonna be the guy who's they're gonna go to in a big game. Not only did they pay him the money to be a big game pitcher, but he kind of felt like he
was the new guy to take over. They signed him to the big deal. Clayton Kershaw's older. They got a lot of veteran pitchers in this rotation and some unknown rookies. He was that guy that they kind of made this center and the centerpiece of this rotation. So it's sort of fitting here that he's getting the start in this must win game. Yeah, I think so too.
And we don't know yet if if Yoshi can put it in another mode, if he can put it in another you know, another gear, and we're gonna find out. I mean, some guys can do that. Some guys play to the level of competition and and and you know they can they can screw it up when they play a lousy team, and they can dominate for a good team. So it's it's something you don't want. You want to try to be that way all the time, of course.
But we'll see what he does. And I think that, like I said, short leash tonight, but it's going to be interesting.
If he doesn't have his command early on. And I'm just completely hypothetical, but you're talking about a short leash, leadoff, batter makes contact, gets.
On, They're not going to bring him out then though, But I'm talking about go ahead.
Tim, Just does he get at least an inning or is there traffic on the basis early and you could see it, maybe you can feel that momentum early for the padres is. Is that a short leash?
Uh? Yeah, I mean you'll be able to feel it. Dave will be able to feel it too, And I think that's that's more important than anything else. I'm of I'm of the opinion that even if he you know, Arise gets up and hits a line drive to third base and uh, you know we catch it, okay, people thinking, oh my gosh, he barreled one up and then the next guy gets on. You know, are you gonna yank him out? Then? No, No, you're gonna you're gonna feel a little.
Bit, well, your your leash is a little bit different sides than my leash.
Yeah, I mean I gotta see now. Now if he if he walks the first guy, the next guy hits a double, then the next guy, you know, goes deep. Yeah, yeah, maybe we got to get out here. So Lee, she's done. That leash has done. Let's check.
This's go on to the phones. Kevin in Long Beach on this Friday morning, bright and early, Kevin, how are you feeling going into Game five tonight? This is a must win game like we've never seen since twenty seventeen.
You know, honestly, like it's been one hell of a roller coaster.
You know, seeing how the team's have been producing.
Throughout the whole year. I've been to a few games myself. I've seen how the team has been like struggling through the injuries, and you know, we've been fighting through this whole time and we're just looking forward to this win tonight. You know, we need to get this. I mean, we're we've always been criticized about this mickey mouse of a World Series win. We need to give it to them and we need to win this one for sure. I
mean rest in peace to my godmother. She's the one who made me the Dodger fan I am today and I'm definitely looking forward to this win tonight.
Let's go Dodgers, all right, Kevin, appreciate the phone call. Eight sixty six eight six six five seven. Let's keep it going. Jeremy, Temple City on this Friday morning as we lead you up to Game five of the NLDS. Jeremy, how you feeling.
I'm telling great, going, doing good, thank you, Just excited for today. Definitely need to get this dub. Actually, my wife told me on the season gets older, she said, if we don't win and we don't get out of the NLBS, we can't renew for next year. So oh no, we need this, We need this, We need this.
Dumb guys, where are your season seats at? Jeremy, where do you said?
I'm in Low's one to sixty three?
Okay, I see you.
Yeah, not too bad, not too bad, but uh, you know, excited, glad. It's against the Padres.
I have a buddy who works for them in their front office. I went to Clarges, met and things like that, so he's been giving me stuff back in ports for a few years now, so it'd be nice to get.
It back, all right, Jeremy, appreciate it for your sake. I hope the Dodgers win so you can keep those season tickets for twenty twenty five. Yeah, for twenty twenty five, eight sixty six, ninety seven, two five, seventy eight, six six nine eighty seven, two five seven. We keep it going, Dodger fans, how you feeling this morning leading up to Game five of this NLDS. Yoshinobu Yamamoto is the starter for the Dodgers. You Darvish on the mound for the Padres.
Diana Gernada Hills, Good morning, Diana, how are you feeling?
I'm feeling great. I'm so excited for tonight. You guys, we're gonna do this.
I know we are.
And I don't know if you mentioned this yet, but David Vasse said yesterday we got to get into you Doris's head, and just you know, chant Darvish, Darvish, get in his head.
Let's do this.
Boys.
Appreciate it, Diana.
Yeah.
David Vasse, who's going to join us in about thirty five minutes. Yesterday was on a five seventy saxy and said he wants to see like the old the hockey chant when a goalie is out there and gets scored upon, all of a sudden, they'll start chanting at the goalie in Unison. And he wants all the Dodger fans, all fifty thousand plus out there to be chanting in Unison doarbishh Doarviish, which I think would be fantastic. And I
wholeheartedly support that idea. Imagine fifty thousand fans instead of saying beat la like all the idiots do around the country, copying the Boston Celtics fans from the eighties who started that very original. By the way, fans, if you start darvish, yeah, get in his head.
By a way, you know, some of some of the guys that that maybe aren't the brightest in the world could be out there and they can hear darv and he could they could say, Wow, look how much they like me. They I'll chant my name. They loved me.
How did you take criticism from fans or.
I didn't care. I just I just laughed at him. Hey, I had this one guy and he wanted to one to a quick story, right, Yeah, Okay, here's a quick one. Is in San Diego, I had this guy that that would come early and he would do that. He would just go suck losers, you know, just god on all. And this during batting practice. Okay, so I'm out there taking ground balls getting ready for the game, and he would do this. He would do it. Over the course
of a couple of years, he would be there. Oh my god, I gotta go and listen to this guy again. And then so one day I just uh, I took the ground ball and I just stopped and I just started running over to him, and he's looking at me like, oh shoots, he gonna jump over the brailing here. And I had the ball in my glove and I gave
him a ball. I gave him the ball and I said, look, I hear you, and I hear you all the time, but I just wanted to give you this ball and hope you have a great time tonight at the game. Ever since then, the dude was my best friend. He killed him with kindness, killed him with this and he was like my best friend. So it was great. Yeah, so that's how you kind of silence them.
It's going to be rocking tonight at Dodgers Stadium, Game five of this NLDS you Darvish and Yoshinobu Yamamoto the pitching matchup and joining this now sixteen years as a big league pitcher, a World Series winner, He's pitched in the postseason both of the Cubs and the Boston Red Sox, and now you see him on Intentional Talk with Kevin Malar and the great Sierra Sontos, co host of MLB Network's Intentional Talk throughout the postseason, including morning this morning
at eleven am Pacific. It is Ryan Dempster and he joins us. Now, by the way, it a great show. Ryan, we watch it daily here in the studio, and it's no surprise you guys have had a twenty three percent rise in viewership this season because you Kevin, Sierra, you guys do a fantastic job. Thanks for coming on this morning.
I really appreciate that. We we love it. We enjoy you know what we do. We love talking baseball. We have a tough time turning it off when the show's over. You know, we're constantly texting each other last night watching the games, and and you know it's it's ingrained in who we are and we love doing the show, so I appreciate all the good words about it, and I appreciate you guys having me.
On absolutely Tim Kates along with former Dodger Great World Series champ Rookie of the Year Steve Sacks here on a five to seventy LA Sports and we're getting fans ready for Game five of this NLDS ryan, a pitching matchup of you darbish against Yoshinova Yamamoto. Yamamoto has struggled in three starts against the Padres this year, from Seul, South Korea to a regular season start to Game one last Saturday, So Dodger fans feeling a little apprehensive this
morning since he's been named the starter. How do you feel that? How do you view this pitching matchup tonight?
Yeah, I mean, I think it's just gonna be one of those ones that might be a little premeditated going in like and you have multiple options as far as when as a guy you know, going to be coming in from the bullpen and for Ama Modo, I'm sure, especially after what Dave did in Game four managing a bullpen game like that, that the leash will be short. There won't be there's not there's not time. There's no time for your starting pitcher too to get locked in, and so it's up to him to go out there
and execute. And it's going to be the same on the other side. You know, I know you you had a great game against the Dodgers in Game two, but you know it's the same way. You don't. You don't have time for anybody to figure it out. It's about who can get out right now and how do we get through each inning clean as possible without any numbers on the board.
Yeah. Ryan, good to be with you this morning.
Thanks. Thanks, Yeah, good to be with you as well.
Yeah. I love you guys on it and I I just you got to warn me though, the next time Kevin Mallar wants to take his shirt off, I'm gonna well, I want to I want to shield myself.
Here are more thing meetings, guys. It's scary sometimes might not be wearing. I'm just glad he's gone on his seat back in.
You know, that's right, that's great. So Ryan, Hey, you know, just so our fans know just what a great career you had sixteen years in the big League's two thousand strikeouts. You were just amazing. Yeah, you and I your career in my career just kind of I was just going out when you were coming in, so we never got to, uh to go against each other. But you just had a great career and I loved watching you pitch. So anyway back back to uh the task at hand for
the Dodgers. Look, uh, Tim and I were talking about this, and I think this thing really does go in cycles. You know, as a pitcher, you get stints where you just can't be hitting. The other times you're like, man, how did he hit that slider on the black and kind of serve it out there and right field? This is happening too much now, so we all know how that happens. It comes and goes. You Darvish has been are stud in his last six or seven outings, He's
been like unhittable. But we know this guy is really streaky. So is this the time where this thing can turn? Is y'am a modal gonna be of the moment and we're going to really find out about him because this is the biggest game he's ever going to pitch in the major leagues. What's your assessment on kind of where they in this where they are in the cycle right now, And how do you think this game is going to come out?
Yeah, you know it just as a starting pitcher, no matter how you dial it up. And I know they're trying to change the way we handle the pitching. And you know, come playoff time, I get it a little bit more during the regular season, but ultimately it comes
down to can you command your fastball? And you know the days I had, whether that's when I was in the midst of All Star four years or I'm pitching great or I was a rookie with the Marlins in nineteen ninety eight and went into Atlanta and beat the cy young candidate Tom Glavin, It's because I had fastball
command that day. If you can command your fastball, you will get out in the big leagues because now you put pressure, like if I'm trying to throw a pitch down in a way and I missed, now one oh, and I'm one owned Fernando Techies Junior, is way worse than if I'm one and so and then and then where am I missing?
Right?
If I if I'm running two seamers and I'm trying to go and I'm running them back over the middle of the plate. Well, that's right into a bat path of a hitter. So there's all these variables. If you can command your fastball, if Yamamota comes out, it can command his fastball. Or he decides he wants to pitch backwards and he's going breaking ball first and then pitching with his fastball. You know, for show, if he can locate the pitches, he's going to do well because his
stuff is good. So when you combine stuff in location, you're really good. And if now you've got stuff location movement, now you do what Darbish did in Game two. It all comes down to location. It never will change, it won't. It's just these hitters are too good. They know the strike zone too well. They're they work in the cage tirelessly.
So if he can do that, then yeah, then and now you're talking about a guy who can navigate through a line up a couple of times, and Dave will read that with his eyes and if it's off, if that location off, it's gonna get squared up, you know. And you mentioned the success the Padres have had against them. Is that something that they see Do they see the ball particularly really well? Is he tipping and if he is, they're not going to tell anybody, and nor should they.
That's that's a tool that they have. I always I always get interested by the tipping pitch thing where people are like, oh, well he's tipping cool. Did anybody else find it? No? And if so, you still got to hit it. And also that's part of the that's part of the chess match you're playing, is finding that stuff. So, yeah, fastball command, if he can command his fastball today, I think he does well and we're going to have a
tight game. This is there's no advantage either way, right, the two teams are evenly matchress.
Yeah.
Ryan Dempster from Intentional Talk on MLB Network joins, just check him and Kevin and Sierra out, including today at eleven am Pacific, as they're on throughout the postseason. It is a great watch daily on the MLB Network. Going back quickly to Game four in San Diego, it was a bullpen game, and all it takes is one pitch, one bad and bad on the other team, and that could break that link of just going reliever to reliever to reliever over the course of a bullpen game. But
the Dodgers pulled it off. Masterfully. Eight different guys got the ball and all of them put up zeros. When you're watching a bullpaying game like that, is that something that they can sustain and do again or is that just an anomaly? Is that one of those great outings we may never see in a bullpen game again.
No, it's definitely something you can you can do again. I think that teams do it. I think just like we were just talking about starting pitchers and people seeing starting pitchers over and over in a game the third time through, the more a team sees a reliever in a series, those numbers go up as well. And and you know those guys all came in tip your cap. They all pitched really well. Ye Like, it's the same
way if you're off a little bit. We saw it yesterday in Detroit with the with the k pitching chaos and aj Hinch has been running out there. Well, guess what those guys were off just a little bit too line up that they've already faced multiple times in this series. So then those guys get a good look and they have an opportunity to go out there and to be able to see that, and so then they they take
advantage of that. So I think, you know, that's one of those things where it's the same way tonight and they pushed the same buttons. Sure, now you match the same guy up with the same hitter and location is off just a little bit, and this guy just saw him two days ago and maybe saw him again in game one. Well, guess what. Now you're talking for a little bit of a recipe for success leaning towards the hitter, But it's always leaning towards the picture. That's what people.
I used to get an argument to Loop Pnell and he's say, well, Son, you know, third time two the lineup, this guy's whack, and I go, Lou.
It's still a seventy percent chance of me winning at best for the hitter. I go, you walk into a casino in Vegas and there is a table game that says seventy percent chance of winning.
They'll be a line down the strip for people to play that game. I still have the advantage. So like that's always going to be the pictures advantage. But yeah, definitely something Dave Roberts is going to be trying to do again tonight.
Yeah, and you know, Ryan, even in battie practice, they don't barrel every one of them up. I mean it's they hit at the top of the screen eight ground balls, right. Yeah.
That brad Ornsburg a pitching coach. I had he one time. Whenever I have a struggling he goes, dude, go stand behind the cage. Yeah, go look at these guys and know it's coming in at sixty five miles an hour and they're rolling over to short.
Yep, you know you're right, Yeah, exactly right. Hey, Ryan, I wanted to ask you about this too, because you know, the Dodgers are built to slug. Everybody knows it. They kind of set their their way to go at the Dodgers as you know, there's going to be a slug fest against me in some weird way, you know, with the fact that Freddy had to go down and now we get a little different flare. Miguel Rojas goes down.
You got Tommy Edman in there, who can hit the ball the other way, you can bunt, he can play different positions. All of a sudden, Key K's in the mix and he's doing his thing. I think this was kind of a fly in the ointment in some strange way that not so much to slug. Now, not all the way this this team can beat you in different ways and speed and a little bit of dexterity with the bat and button the ball down the line and
this type of thing. I think that throws a kind of wrench into the mindset of a pitcher like Darvish that knows this team can slug, but oh god, they can do these other things.
Now, yeah, I'm with you. I you know, I know, I'm not naive to know that home runs in the postseason. If you look at the numbers, they win, sure, but not a lot of games do you win on solo homers. It's the base hit, it's the tough two strike approach that somebody has, you know, before he gets on, you know, those kind of things that you mentioned. The bottom of the lineup, those guys get on before the big guys
at the top. Well, now, those solo homers are three run homers, and those are hard to come back from in the playoffs.
Oh yes, you.
Know we want in twenty thirteen with the Red Sox with that formula exactly. I mean, we did not look at the success of the Houston Astros over the year that pass run they've been on. It's hitting with two strikes. They don't strike out, they put it in play. Now a sudden it's playoff time. Pressure is a little tighter guy kicks the ball and doesn't quite make the play or whatever. You bloop a base hit, and now a two run homer two runs in the playoffs feels like
a five in the regular season. It's just and that scrappy type formula is annoying as a pitcher, it's frustrating as a defense, and ultimately it's gonna get you in a situation where now your best hitters are coming up with runners on base, and those crooked numbers do damage.
So yeah, you know, there's always and that's depth, right, That's where the Los Angeles Dodgers have an advantage when you have depth like that where you can plug in Kei Ky Hernandez who has experienced it in the postseason, Tommy Emman, who's played you know, like those kind of guys that get on base before your big dogs. It's a dangerous format and the same thing from the other side of the ball for the padres as well, if those guys get on base before they're big guys.
Ryan, final thing, what do you think happens tonight in this game?
Five?
Darvis Yamamoto, Dodgers Stadium, sold out crowd. Winner moves on to face the Mets in the NLCS. How do you envision this thing playing out?
Yeah, it's gonna be I think it's gonna be extremely loud and crazy in there, you know. And I will say this, whoever gets the lead early better add on, because if you think, you know, the two runs you score earlier are going to be enough, I don't. I don't think that they will be. I think that, you know, the desperation of a game five, You're gonna see unconventional things. You might see a squeeze, you might see something, you know,
whatever it is. But get the lead. You know, if we're going to play the numbers, the person who scores first tends to win more than the other guys. And if you can add on, you add on. But I'll tell you one thing. I'm not leaving my couch. Sorry, started my wife, she's gonna have to take care of all the kids stuff tonight because I am not missing the pitch. This is going to be a fun game to watch. And these two teams do not like each other.
And I mean, this is what you drop for a game seven of a World Series, letting alone a DS game.
This is gonna be a last Yeah, hey Ryan, last one for me. I got to ask you. You know, we know it's going to be uh Yoshi going tonight. But you know you had a chance for Flarity. You had a chance for another bullpen game that worked very well for the Dodgers. What what do you think about the choice? Uh? I picked a young Momoto to pitch. That was my choice. Uh. And that's what they're going with. Is that what you would have picked? Or would you have done something different?
No, I've done the same and and and one reason is you know that Flarity is going to be in that bullpen ready to go from the first hitter of the game. So Flarity Jack has pitched out of the bullpen before. He's he's done that where he can help out there. Whereas when you take a guy that hasn't done that, you know it's a difference maker, it really is. And and and he'll be ready to go. It's all hands on deck, you know, No, nobody's nobody's safe, and
nobody wants to be safe. Everybody wants to try and play their part to send their team. And for La those guys want to be able to send their team to the next round, to the CS. So yeah, I like the choice it makes. It makes a lot of sense. It makes sense on pay for mixed sense from a heartbeat and emotional standpoint. So but the leash will be short. I know that.
Ryan.
We appreciate you jumping on this morning. Can't wait to see you guys at eleven a m. Pacific today. You guys are going to continue throughout the postseason. It's Intentional Talk MLB Network, Ryan Dempster, Kevin Malar, and Sierra Sonto's no offense to Steven Nelson, but much better with Sierra Santo's much more enjoyable to watch intentional Talk with her rather than our boy Nelly.
I'll tell you what. Nelly's absolutely crushing it and so I couldn't be happier for him either.
It worked out well, all absolutely one of the great guys in killing it, as you mentioned, calling games right here on a five seventy LA Sports for the NLDS. Ryan, thanks ver much for coming on. We appreciate it. Thanks, Brian, you got it, guys.
Absolutely all right.
There he goes Ryan Dempster from Intentional Talk on MLB Network, coming up your phone calls as we get ready for Game five of this NLDS Top of the hour, David Massa will join us eight sixty six, nine eighty seven, eight sixty six ninety seven two five seventy Yamamoto, Darvish, Dodgers Padres. How you feeling going into this must win game five? Your calls?
Next?
You're an NFI seventy LA sports, Saxon kates in the am. You're an M five seventy LA Sports. You're a home a Game five of the nl DS. First pitch coming up at five oh eight tonight, Yoshinobu Yamamoto named the game five starter for the Dodgers. You, Darvish, will go for the San Diego Padres. Winner moves on to the NLCS that starts on Sunday afternoon, either at Dodger Stadium or Petgo Park, depending on who wins this game five tonight, Sexy.
How many? How many must win games? Elimination games? Do you remember you played in in the postseason? Forgive me for not knowing off and I should have looked this up, but do you remember do you remember playing in elimination games?
Well, in eighty two we had the last game of the season. If we won, we were in and that's when you know, Joe Morgan hit that home run off Terry Force or that put us out. So I guess you could say that was one. And then we were in the playoffs in eighty three and we got eliminated in four straight and so that was an elimination game. And then in eighty five we were in there, and then of course I don't know that. Yeah, we had a elimination game in eighty five in the playoffs against
the Mets. So yeah, quite a few been in quite a few, and you know, it's those games are are just there's there's no talk. You know, there's no rationale. Really, you just go out and either you do or you don't. That's that's the way when it comes down to it, what it's about. When you're in the middle of the game, there's no rationale. You just take the game as it comes and either you're gonna do it or you're not, and that's it.
Can imagine should come in and say something to change it either way or at that point nothing needs to be said.
I don't really think so. I mean, you know, managers are are are great, and you know you got to have them. They certainly matter. But when it comes down to it, either you know you're gonna barrel it up or the guy's gonna get you out. And that's that's what it comes down to. It's either yes or no.
Let's go to Brian on the four h five here on a five seventy LA Sports Brian, how you feel and going into Game five tonight at Dodger Stadium.
I'm feeling pretty awesome.
All right?
Why is that?
Oh, I'm just excited about the game. I just wanted to play with all the first, second, and third row fans at the stadium tonight to know their duties when it comes to the fly balls. I don't want to and have a want to make sure we learn from our mistake.
Yeah, absolutely, bring your glove. You have every right to that ball. As soon as it crosses that barrier into the stands. You have as much right for that ball as does the outfielder who may be trying to reach into the stands next year's seat, knock over the drink in front of you and try to grab the ball and bring it back. You have every right for them.
Absolutely.
Five. You know, fly balls outfield also, you know, foul balls. Just to everybody be ready tonight.
All right, Brian appreciated. I never thought we'd have a call Saxy for encouraging fans to know their role in the outfield. As far as home runs, we're concerned and going and getting the ball.
I think you could. First of all, we got to get Brian some coffee. I think he's just he's just getting wrong.
Oh he said he's excited. He hearing in his voice.
Yeah, yeah, I heard it. But I think he could just summed it up and said, hey, ball comes past the barrier. Attack. I mean that would have been kind of more succinct. I think, just attack.
Yeah, And I think Dodger fans will be ready tonight, at least I hope Dodger fans will be ready.
Even believe that ball almost profar almost caught another one exactly the same from the same guy at the exact same spot, but you know, different stadium. But I mean, can you believe that it What are the chances of that Muki hit it in exactly the same spot inches away?
And I just think if he catches that ball, what does that do to the psyche of a Mookie Bets? Maybe for the series.
Just yeah, that that set the tone. I mean, that's set him on fire right there.
Yeah, eight six ninet eighty seven, two five seventy. It's Game five of the NLDS. We'll come back. We'll get David Veasse's take on this game five tonight, his thoughts on Yoshinobu Yamamoto getting the start for the Dodgers. You, Darvish going for the padres. It's a winner take all. N LDS. Winner moves on to the NLCS to face the New York Mets, and we got it for it Morongo Casino. Dodgers on Deck begins at four pm live
from Dodgers Stadium. First pitch at five to eight. Steve Sacks, Tim Katson, you on this Friday morning, are your home at the Dodger's Amphi seventy l A Sports