NEW YORK — Friday’s decisive fifth game of the National League Division Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres was the most-watched Major League Baseball postseason game on record in Japan, averaging an estimated 12.9 million viewers, according to MLB.
The Dodgers’ 2-0 victory was the first time two Japanese pitchers started a postseason MLB game. Los Angeles’ Yoshinobu Yamamoto gave up only two hits over five innings while San Diego’s Yu Darvish allowed two runs on three hits in 6⅔ innings.
The game also featured Shohei Ohtani helping the Dodgers advance to the NL Championship Series for the first time since 2021. Tokyo is 16 hours ahead of Los Angeles, meaning the game started around 11 a.m. Saturday in Japan.
The NLDS decider also drew more viewers than the past three MLB games played in Japan. The Dodgers and Padres opened the regular season with a pair of games in Tokyo.
Ohtani’s first MLB postseason game, in Game 1 of the NLDS on Oct. 5, averaged 9.1 million viewers in Japan. Ohtani had a three-run homer in the game, which the Dodgers won 7-5.