The two international-born starting pitchers, Jose Quintana for the Mets and Yoshinobu Yamamoto for the Dodgers, battled during Game Four on Thursday at Citi Field.
The Dodgers are one win away from their 25th NL pennant in franchise history and still intact for their eighth World Series championship.
Game Five of the NLCS will be on Friday, October 18, on Fox Sports 1 at 5:08 p.m. EDT at Citi Field.
The Mets pitching staff threw nine innings and allowed 12 hits, ten earned runs, nine walks, and 11 strikeouts in their Game Four loss.
The Mets offense was 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position, leaving 12 men on base during their Thursday night loss.
Quintana faced Dodgers designated hitter Japanese sensation Shohei Ohtani to start the game and gave up a solo home run that went 422 feet on a 90.8 mph sinker in the second pitch of his bat and drove it over the right-center field wall for the first run of the game.
Quintana ended the top of the first inning by retiring the next three batters by getting Dodgers right fielder Mookie Betts to fly out to Mets right fielder Starling Marte, left fielder Teoscar Hernadez to ground out to shortstop Francisco Lindor, and shortstop Tommy Edman to strikeout out looking on a 91-mph sinker with no other harm done and 12 pitches to end the frame.
Yamamoto got Lindor to ground out to Edman for the first out of the bottom of the first inning by attempting to backhand the comebacker from the pitcher’s mound and ruling from a 1-6-3 right out of the gate with the first batter for the orange and blue.
Mets third baseman Mark Vientos continued his hot streak in the 2024 postseason and launched a solo home run from a 95.1 mph four-seam fastball that went 397 feet over the right-center field wall off Yamamoto to tie the game up at 1-1.
Yamamoto got the next two batters to strike out swinging, with Mets first baseman Pete Alonso on an 85.6 mph slider on a foul tip and left fielder Brandon Nimmo on a 91-mph splitter to end the bottom of the first inning and throwing 25 pitches.
Yamamoto added three more strikeouts to his stat sheet in the bottom of the second inning. He struck out three out of the four batters he faced, getting Marte as the first batter swinging, designated hitter J.D. Martinez swinging, second baseman Jose Iglesias singling on a ground ball to left field, and Harrison Bader to strike out swinging for the final out of the bottom of the second inning.
In the top of the third inning, the Dodgers added more runs to the board, with Edman doubling to left field to score Ohtani and capture the lead at 2-1.
The next batter, Dodgers third baseman Enrique Hernandez, singled on an infield single to Lindor. He dove and stopped the baseball going into the outfield from the 5-6 hole, which resulted in Betts coming in to score to extend the lead to 3-1.
The Mets cut the deficit to one run in the bottom of the third inning when Nimmo beat out a 4-6 double play at first base with the bases loaded and catcher Francisco Alvarez scoring from third base to cut the make it 3-2. Nimmo was called out at first base by umpire David Rackley, and Mets manager Carlos Mendoza decided to challenge, and the call was overturned.
Quintana was taken out of the game in the top of the fourth inning after he faced Ohtani and walked him with one out to make it first and second with facing center fielder Andy Pages as the first batter of the inning and flying out to Marte and second baseman Chris Taylor singling on sharp infield ground ball single to Vientos.
Mendoza called upon relief pitcher Jose Butto to replace Quintana in the top of the fourth inning.
Quintana threw 3.1 innings, allowing five hits, five earned runs, four walks, and two strikeouts on Thursday night.
Shortly after Quintana being taken out of the game, Betts rocked a line drive two-run double to left field scoring Taylor and Ohtani from first base to extend the run breakout to 5-2.
Yamamoto grinded his way into the bottom of the fifth inning and was taken out of the game by manager Dave Roberts after he struck out Lindor for the first out of the inning and hitting Alvarez as the first batter.
Roberts called upon relief pitcher Evan Phillips to replace Yamamoto.
Yamamoto threw 4.1 innings, allowing four hits, two earned runs, one walk, and eight strikeouts.
In the top of the sixth inning, Butto was taken out of the game from Mendoza as he called upon relief pitcher Phil Matton.
Butto faced Taylor, had him fly out to right field, and then walked Ohtani before Mendoza decided to go to his bullpen.
Butto threw two innings, allowing one hit, one earned run, two walks, and three strikeouts.
Matton faced Betts as his first batter in the top of the sixth inning and gave up a 79.1 mph sweeper that hung right in the middle of the plate. Betts cranked a 377-foot three-run home run over the left field wall off Matton and gave the blue and white a comfortable lead to pave away from the Mets at 7-2.
The Dodgers piled three more runs in the top of the eighth inning with Edman rocking a two-run double to left field, scoring Betts and pinch runner Kevin Kiermaier to extend the lead to 9-2.
A few batters later, Dodgers catcher Will Smith singled on a soft line drive to center field, scoring Edman to make it 10-2.
Dodgers relief pitcher Edgardo Henriquez closed out the final six outs of the game and got Marte in the bottom of the ninth inning to foul out to Muncy for the final out of the game to salvage a 10-2 win and a 3-1 series lead on Thursday night.
The Dodgers pitching staff threw nine innings, allowing ten hits, two earned runs, three walks, and 12 strikeouts in their Game Four win.
Quintana threw 83 pitches and 44 strikes on Thursday before Mendoza called on his bullpen in the bottom of the fourth inning.
Yamamoto creased 73 pitches and 52 strikes before Roberts strategized on his Dodgers bullpen.
Quintana earned his 100th win of his career against the Cincinnati Reds at home on September 7 and felt how much his confidence felt from his success down the line into the postseason when he explained to the media on Wednesday.
“I’ve been really surprised when I got my hundred wins. And the reason is because, man, that is a lot. I have been a long stretch to get that number. And everything I’ve been doing means a lot for me and my family and all the people supporting me during my career,” Quintana said during the Game Three pregame press conference before his start on Thursday night.
Quintana was 3-1 with a 0.72 ERA in his four starts in September. He pitched 25 innings, allowing 15 hits, two earned runs, six walks, and 23 strikeouts.
Quintana, 35, was born in Arjona, Bolivar, Colombia, and during his 13-year Major League Baseball Career, he was only an All-Star once, in 2016.
Quintana has played with the Chicago White Sox from 2012-17, the Chicago Cubs from 2017-20, the Los Angeles Angels in 2021, the San Francisco Giants in 2021, the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2022, and the St. Louis Cardinals in 2022 before signing with the Mets on December 9, 2022, for a two-year, $26 million contract.
During the 2024 regular season, Quintana went 10-10 with a 3.75 ERA in his 31 starts. He pitched 170.1 innings, allowing 150 hits, 71 earned runs, 22 home runs, 63 walks, 135 strikeouts, and a 1.250 WHIP.
Quintana faced the Dodgers on May 28 at home in his 10th start against the blue and white. He threw six innings, three strikeouts, and allowed eight hits, three earned runs, two home runs, and no walks while facing 26 batters.
Quintana’s lifetime numbers in the postseason entering Game Four of the NLCS consisted of an 0-1 record with a 2.43 ERA in seven appearances and six starts, throwing 29.2 innings, allowing 19 hits, eight earned runs, one home run, nine walks, 26 strikeouts, and a 0.944 WHIP.
Quintana has had two no-decisions in his two starts in the 2024 postseason against the Milwaukee Brewers in Game Three of the National League Wild Card Series and Game Four of the National League Division Series and combined for throwing 11 innings, allowing six hits, no earned runs, three walks, 11 strikeouts, and one hit-by-pitch while facing 44 batters.
Yamamoto, 26, was born in Bizen, Japan, and played seven seasons with the Orix Buffaloes in Nippon Professional Baseball before signing with the Dodgers on December 27, 2023, for a 12-year, $325 million contract, which allows him to opt out after the 2031 and 2033 World Series if he has Tommy John surgery or is on the injured list for a right elbow injury for 134 consecutive service days from 2024-29.
Yamamoto’s annual salary will be $5 million in 2024, $10 million in 2025, $12 million in 2026, $26 million in 2027–2029, $29 million in 2030–2031, and $28 million in 2032–2035 during his time in Chavez Ravine.
The Dodgers had to pay a $50.625 million posting fee to the Orix Buffaloes last offseason for the organization to acquire Yamamoto.
Yamamoto’s contract is the largest for a pitcher in baseball history and is tied with Corey Seager’s for the fourth-largest contract in MLB history.
In his rookie season in the MLB, Yamamoto posted a 7-2 record in his 18 starts with a 3.00 ERA, throwing 90 innings, allowing 78 hits, 30 earned runs, seven home runs, 22 walks, 105 strikeouts, and a 1.111 WHIP.
Before his start in Game 4 of the NLCS, Yamamoto had not pitched against the Mets since April 19 at home and threw six innings, allowing seven hits, three earned runs, one home run, one walk, and nine strikeouts while facing 27 batters.
In Yamamoto’s two starts in the 2024 postseason against the San Diego Padres on October 5 in Game One of the NLDS and in Game Five, he went 1-0, posting a 5.63 ERA, throwing eight innings, allowing seven hits, five earned runs, one home run, three walks, and three strikeouts while firing 123 pitches and 73 strikes.
Yamamoto’s career in Japan spanned seven seasons with the Orix Buffaloes and had a lifetime record of 75-29 between the big-league club and their farm team. He posted a 1.82 ERA in 172 appearances, throwing 14 complete games and eight shutouts while rifling 897 innings, allowing 633 hits, 181 earned runs, 36 home runs, 206 walks, 922 strikeouts, and a 0.935 WHIP.
Prior to Yamamoto heading to the MLB, he won the Japan Series in 2022, was a five-time NPB All-Star in 2018, 2019, and from 2021-23, a three-time Japanese Triple Crown from 2021-23, a three-time Pacific League MVP from 2021-23, three-time Eiji Sawamura Award from 2021-23, a three-time Best Nine Award from 2021-23, three-time Pacific League Golden Glove Award from 2021-23, four-time Pacific League ERA champion in 2019 and from 2021-23, four-time Pacific League strikeout champion from 2020-23, and a three-time Pacific League wins champion from 2021-23.
Yamamoto helped the Japan national team win three gold medals at the 2020 Olympics, the 2019 Premier12 tournament, and the 2023 World Baseball Classic before heading to the United States.
Yamamoto was transferred from the 15-day injured list on July 13 to the 60-day injured list with triceps tightness and was not activated until September 10, prior to returning to the Dodgers rotation.
Yamamoto made two starts with Triple-A Oklahoma City when he began his rehab assignment on August 28.
He posted a 0-1 record with a 6.75 ERA in two starts, throwing four innings, allowing three hits, three earned runs, one home run, two walks, and five strikeouts before returning to Chavez Ravine.
Yamamoto made four starts in September and posted a 1-0 record with a 3.38 ERA, throwing 16 innings, allowing 16 hits, six earned runs, one home run, five walks, and 21 strikeouts before helping the Dodgers win their 23rd NL West Division title.
The Dodgers will have starting pitcher Jack Flaherty take the mound against the Mets on Friday, October 18, en route to hope they close out in Game 5 of the NLCS.
Mendoza announced during the postgame conference of Game Four that southpaw starting pitcher David Peterson will start for the Mets in Game 5, and Kodai Senge will be available out of the bullpen.
Notebook: Max Muncy reached base in 12 straight plate appearances, which tied Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson for the most consecutive postseason plate appearances, reaching safely. Hall of Famer David Ortiz in 2007 and Billy Hatcher in 1990 reached base in 10 straight plate appearances before Muncy passing both players on Thursday night.
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WBN MLB: https://worldbaseball.com/league/mlb/
Photo Credit: Yoshinobu Yamamoto #18 of the Los Angeles Dodgers pitches during Game 4 of the NLCS presented by loanDepot between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Mets at Citi Field on Thursday, October 17, 2024 in New York, New York. (Photo by Drew Hallowell/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
