LOS ANGELES – Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitched five scoreless innings, and both Hernándezes homered, completing the Dodgers National League Division Series comeback with a 2-0 victory over the San Diego Padres in Game 5 on Sunday night at Dodger Stadium.

The Dodgers, who did not allow a run in the final 24 innings of the series, are back in the NLCS for the first time in three years.

Going back two games to one earlier in the series is when the past two Octobers saw the Dodgers crumble, with either poor pitching, a dormant offense, or both. But this NLDS showed promise early, from the comeback win in Game 1 to the near-comeback from trailing by five on the road in Game 3.

“I just think there’s a ruthlessness, a refusal to lose,” manager Dave Roberts said ahead of Friday’s game. “I think there’s another level: you’re just not going to lose, no matter the circumstances. I saw that from our guys this year.

“I believe in this team more than any team I’ve ever had.”

That belief was reinforced by a Game 4 blowout in which almost everything went right. Every pitcher put up putouts, and the offense excelled from top to bottom, tying the game 8-0 on the road.

Although a bullpen game was discussed as an option for Game 5, the Dodgers did not feel they could deploy relievers with the same aggression as in Game 4, when three relievers pitched multiple innings. So it made more sense to turn to Yamamoto, perhaps the Dodgers’ best option for Game 5, and on schedule.

Even if his results against San Diego this season — 13 runs allowed in nine innings in three starts — might have said something different.

Enter Roberts, the eternal optimist.

“Yoshinobu is here to be a top starter, and this is his time,” Roberts said. “We’re betting that the man will throw the game of his life tonight.”

The biggest dragon to slay was the first inning, with San Diego scoring three runs off Yamamoto in Game 1 and scoring 10 runs in their first three first innings off him this season. But Yamamoto got things right through the opening stages, including striking out Fernando Tatis Jr. that sent the Dodger Stadium crowd into a frenzy.

Yamamoto didn’t miss too many bats and allowed some hard-hit balls to be caught, including two flyouts to Mookie Betts on Manny Machado’s right-field warning track. But Yamamoto got the results, including a two-up double play by Tatis that ended the third inning and the only real threat against Yamamoto, who retired his last seven batters.

Roberts isn’t the only disciple of the power of positive thinking.

With Miguel Rojas still out with his torn adductor and Tommy Edman moved to shortstop, the Dodgers turned to veteran Kiké Hernández in center field on Friday after his two hits in Game 4.

“I was just going to find a way to get him in there,” Roberts explained.

Hernández turned his season around near the All-Star break when he first started wearing glasses while playing. Since then, he has seen his numbers rise to .274/.307/.458 with a 112 wRC+.

In October, he shined the most of his entire career, hitting .276/.351/.535 with a 134 wRC+ in 74 postseason games beginning Friday. Ahead of Game 5, he talked about using visualization to help him relax and succeed in pressure points, and shared his take on big challenges, like a winner-takes-all Game 5.

“The way I see it, these types of games are the ones we’ve been dreaming about since we were little kids,” Hernández said. “We didn’t come here within NL West; we came to win the World Series. To do that, we have to do that or we go home and think about it in the offseason.”

To that end, Hernández jumped on a fastball on Yu Darvish’s first pitch in the second inning, allowing the Dodgers to play from the front early.

Former Dodgers teammate Alex Wood chimed in after the home run.

Thanks to Yamamoto and the bullpen, that run remained the lead until the seventh inning, when Teoscar Hernández hit a solo shot of his own, his second home run of the series, doubling the Dodgers’ advantage.

That home run ended what was another excellent start for Darvish, who held the Dodgers to one run in seven innings in Game 2. This time he allowed just three hits, but two of them were home runs in heavy defeat.

After Yamamoto gave them five innings, the Dodgers were able to use their bullpen in a more traditional format. That included Evan Phillips facing all five batters he faced on a sweeper-fueled strikeout by Machado in the seventh inning.

Alex Vesia retired the last batter of the seventh and was on his way to start the eighth, but left with trainer Thomas Albert before throwing another pitch.

This allowed Michael Kopech to open the frame and he threw a flawless eighth. Blake Treinen pitched a scoreless ninth, earning him bookend saves in the NLDS.

NLDS Game 5 info

Home run: Kiké Hernández (1), Teoscar Hernández (2)

WP — Yoshinobu Yamamoto (1-0): 5 IP, 2 hits, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts

LP — Yu Darvish (1-1): 6⅔ IP, 3 hits, 2 runs, 1 walk, 4 strikeouts

Sv — Blake Treinen (2): 1 IP, zeros

Next

The Dodgers get to keep playing, and they get to stay home for a few more days, with Game 1 of the NLCS against the Mets on Sunday night (5:15 p.m., Fox). Jack Flaherty will probably start for Los Angeles, although nothing has been announced yet.