Last Friday’s pivotal Game 5 of the National League Division Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres set a record as the most-watched Major League Baseball postseason game in Japan, drawing an estimated 12.9 million viewers, according to MLB. In a historic matchup, it marked the first time two Japanese pitchers started a postseason game. The Dodgers’ Yoshinobu Yamamoto allowed just two hits over five innings, while the Padres’ Yu Darvish gave up two runs on three hits across 6 2/3 innings, leading to the Dodgers’ 2-0 victory.
Japanese fans tune in for historic MLB postseason matchup
The game also featured Shohei Ohtani, who played a key role in helping the Dodgers advance to the National League Championship Series for the first time since 2021. With Tokyo 16 hours ahead of Los Angeles, the game aired at approximately 11 a.m. on Saturday in Japan, attracting a larger audience than the last three MLB games held in the country.
Ohtani’s postseason debut on October 5, which saw him hit a three-run homer to help the Dodgers to a 7-5 win, averaged 9.1 million viewers in Japan.
