The shortest player on the field at Dodger Stadium looked as if he was the tallest.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto was a giant on Friday night.
And to think the 5-foot-10 right-hander from Japan started for the Dodgers in Game 5 of their National League Division Series only because they figured their relievers couldn’t pitch the entire game.
Yamamoto turned the anticipated bullpen game for the Dodgers into something more conventional. The three innings they were counting on him to pitch became four, and eventually five. He never conceded a run.
When the game was over, the Dodgers were spraying sparkling wine and pouring beer on each other in their locker room, celebrating their passage to the NL Championship Series. In the middle of the celebration was Yamamoto, the unlikely pitcher of record in the 2-0 victory over the San Diego Padres.
Yamamoto was inconsistent for the majority his first season with the Dodgers, his adjustment to the major leagues delayed by a shoulder injury that sidelined …