Japanese-born pitchers made a little postseason history on Tuesday, and two Southern California clubs were right at the center of it.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto of the Dodgers and Yuki Matsui of the Padres each picked up wins on the same day, making them the first pair of Japanese pitchers to record postseason victories on the same day. It was another reminder of how deeply Japanese players have shaped MLB, a line that runs from Hideo Nomo to Ichiro Suzuki, Hideki Matsui, Daisuke Matsuzaka and Shohei Ohtani.
Nomo’s move from Japan in 1995 helped change the landscape. After immediate success with the Dodgers, including winning the National League Rookie of the Year Award, the posting system soon followed.
The ripple effect never really stopped. Fifteen Japanese-born players appeared in a big league game in 2026.
There’s also a direct line connecting Nomo to San Diego. Now a Padres special advisor, he helped bring Yuki Matsui to the club as a free agent during the 2023-24 offseason. Matsui has rewarded that move with a strong run both in the regular season and the playoffs.
The left-hander has appeared in each of the first three games of the National League Division Series against the Milwaukee Brewers. He threw 15 pitches in Game 1, 27 in Game 2 and 23 in Game 3, so it would not be a surprise if manager Craig Stammen keeps him out of Game 4 on Wednesday.
Matsui’s results have been steady. He finished the regular season 5-1 with a 1.83 ERA in 54 appearances, and he has allowed just one run in four postseason outings - an unearned run in Game 2 - across 4.1 innings.
Yamamoto’s win came in a different setting, but it carried the same historic weight. He started Game 3 of the Dodgers’ NLDS against the Atlanta Braves and gave up one run over seven innings as Los Angeles moved ahead 2-1 in the best-of-five series.
The Padres, meanwhile, are still fighting to extend their season. Milwaukee is one win away from clinching the best-of-five NLDS, and San Diego has to win Game 4 on Wednesday and Game 5 on Friday in Milwaukee to stay alive. If the Padres get through, a meeting with Yamamoto in the NL Championship Series would be on the table.
An all-Southern California NLCS would be a big deal in Japan.
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