Would you want it any other way? After four heated showdowns in the National League Division Series, the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers meet in the fifth win-or-win game at Dodger Stadium on Friday night.

Which side will have the last laugh in the intense NL West rivalry? What will the final decide? And what drama will unfold in Los Angeles this time?

We’ll provide you with pre-match predictions, live updates and analysis, followed by our takeaways after the final pitch.

Live updates

San Diego Padres at Los Angeles Dodgers, 8:08 p.m

Pitching Matchup: Yoshinobu Yamamoto (7-2, 3.00 ERA) vs. Yu Darvish (7-3, 3.31 ERA)

Lineups

Dodgers

Shohei Ohtani (left) DH
Mookie Betts (R) RF
Freddie Freeman (L) 1B
Teoscar Hernandez (R) LF
Max Muncy (L) 3B
Will Smith (R) C
Kike Hernandez (R) CF
Gavin Lux (L) 2B
Tommy Edman (S) SS

Padres

Luis Arraez (Z) 1B
Fernando Tatis Jr. (D) RF
Jurickson Profar (A) LF
Manny Machado (D) 3B
Jackson Merrill (Z) CF
Xander Bogaerts (D) SS
David Peralta (Z) DH
Jake Cronenworth (Z) 2B
Kyle Higashioka (D) C

Pre-match predictions

What’s the key to Game 5 for the Padres?

Bradford Doolittle: The Padres must guard against getting too big in their collective approach at the plate. What made San Diego’s offense so dynamic throughout the season was its ability to score in a variety of ways. Against the Dodgers, 62% of the Padres’ runs came on long balls. That’s fine when the ball leaves the court, and the Padres won two games that way in this series. But it was a well-balanced attack that got the Padres this far, and if the game continues to be close and low-scoring, they’ll have to remember who they are and not turn heel on every shot.

Alden González: Luis Arráez is getting going offensively. He is their leadoff hitter and in many ways a tone-setter for their offense, but he has struggled in the first four games of this series, with three hits in 18 at-bats. Given the heat of Fernando Tatis Jr. behind him and the presence of Manny Machado two batters later, Arráez reaching base multiple times could play a major role in reviving the lineup after it was shut out in Game 4. The Padres scored early runs and turning off the crowd at Dodger Stadium will be crucial to securing a Game 5 win in a hostile environment. Arráez holds these keys perhaps more than anyone else.

David Schoenfield: Yu Darvish took the leadoff game to the bullpen. He accomplished this in Game 2, when he allowed just one run in seven innings, a performance that led manager Mike Shildt to make the questionable decision to start Dylan Cease on short rest in Game 4 – because he wanted him to Darvish started in Game 5. Dodgers fans no doubt remember Darvish’s two poor performances in the 2017 World Series – when the Astros may have stolen signs, of course, although his Game 7 appearance came at Dodger Stadium – but Darvish has actually been pretty good in the postseason since (2 .56 ERA in six starts, three of which went seven innings). He was effective in Game 2 despite only throwing seven swings and misses, so Shildt will want to see if Darvish misses the bats early. If not, perhaps it would be wise to go to his bullpen sooner rather than later.

What’s the key to Game 5 for the Dodgers?

Gonzalez: Yoshinobu Yamamoto is effective. The Dodgers were still unsure about their pitching plans for Game 5 on Thursday afternoon, just hours before they finally announced Yamamoto as their starting pitcher. It was enlightening. Yamamoto made his Dodgers debut against the Padres and was charged by South Korea on March 21 for scoring five runs in one inning. He then made his postseason debut against the Padres and was charged with five runs in three innings in Game 1, during which the Dodgers believe he tipped the pitches. Simply put, the highest paid pitcher in baseball history has to be better.

Doolittle: It is essential that they keep an eye on the score early. It seems that when things go wrong for the Dodgers in crucial playoff games, it’s often because a pitcher falters early. You’ll see a reminder of that history in Game 5 with Darvish on the mound for San Diego. The Dodgers can’t give up early because even though their offense is capable of coming from behind, you don’t want to catch up in the middle of the inning against this San Diego bullpen.

Schönfield: I won’t get too cute here: Shohei Ohtani. Especially if Freddie Freeman can’t play again, the Dodgers will need Ohtani to put a pitch – or two – on the outfield plans.

This series was full of drama. Predict what we’ll all be talking about after the finale:

Doolittle: That tricky moment in Game 5. I don’t know when it’s going to happen or if Machado really contributed anything to it, but it’s coming. It’s a great rivalry and mesmerizing to see two teams approach it with such genuine disdain. Let’s just keep the fans out of it this time.

Gonzalez: Major League Baseball should re-seed in the playoffs, making this a best-of-seven series and making the winner, whether the Dodgers or the Padres, suddenly the favorite to win outright. These are the two best teams remaining, even if the Padres don’t have Joe Musgrove and the Dodgers are constantly uncertain about Freeman.

Schönfield: Freeman came off the bench and delivered a game-winning two-run pinch-hit single.

And finally, which team will face the Mets in the NL Championship Series?

Doolittle: A month before the end of the regular season, I was telling people that it was really difficult to look at how these teams were doing right now and find a good reason to pick the Dodgers to beat the Padres. I’ll stick with it. Darvish was outstanding in his first appearance, the Padres bullpen is deep and dynamic, and I fully expect Machado and Tatis to enjoy a high-leverage moment or two in this game.

Schönfield: Oddly enough, despite the Dodgers’ division win, it now feels like all the pressure is on the Padres – especially given the, shall we say, fortitude they showed in Game 2. The Padres weren’t able to channel that into a series – however, they secured the win in Game 4, and now they need their hitters to talk. Meanwhile, in recent years, the Dodgers were expected to move on, only to collapse. But this team has Ohtani. The Dodgers move on.