Yoshinobu Yamamoto's Dodgers playoff debut rudely wrecked by vindictive Manny Machado

San Diego Padres star Manny Machado heard the Dodger Stadium boos during Game 1. He hears them all the time. But, as is typically the case, he saw the scoreboard: 1-0, his Padres over their Los Angeles Dodgers. And he knew he had the upper hand.

He also knew he had the power bat.

The Dodgers entered this series as the most expensive team to ever be on the back foot against their NL West rivals, and in order to prove they could hang with a team that believed, they'd need Yoshinobu Yamamoto to provide effective length in his first postseason showcase.

He's been plenty effective in recent weeks, but length hasn't exactly been his forte. He's been a five-and-fly guy. So have most Dodgers starting pitchers in the past several postseasons.

Unfortunately, his mission became more complicated when Machado deposited a two-run home run deep into the recesses of Dodger Stadium. How much "length" would he be asked to provide when the here-and-now was so ghastly, after all?

Dodgers ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto greeted by Manny Machado home run in NLDS

Yamamoto's regular season was abbreviated, but Saturday stood out as an excellent chance for him to prove all the pampering and regulations were worth the trouble, and weren't simply setting up a 2025 comeback (with Shohei Ohtani joining the rotation beside him), but rather a 2024 showcase.

Machado? He knew exactly who he was stepping in against. A right-hander who couldn't afford to make a mistake in a ballpark full of people who couldn't bear to witness a mistake, but were collectively facilitating the creation of a mistake with their angst. He pounced all over it.

If the Dodgers are going to win this game and series, they'll need to climb out of an early hole. But that was true before first pitch, too.

Not sure Jack Flaherty would've provided anything different if the Dodgers had kept things stable, either. But we'll all find out tomorrow. Machado will be ready.