Dodgers’ Yamamoto makes World Series history

Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto achieved a feat last seen more than two decades ago on Sunday, throwing his second consecutive postseason complete game to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers past the Toronto Blue Jays 5-1 in Game 2 of the World Series in Toronto. The 26-year-old right-hander allowed four hits and one run, striking out eight without issuing a walk on 105 pitches. He became the first pitcher since Curt Schilling in 2001 to throw back-to-back complete games in a single postseason and the first Dodger since Orel Hershiser in 1988 to accomplish the feat.

Yamamoto worked quickly through Toronto’s lineup, throwing 34 pitches through the first three innings and retiring the side in order in the final six frames. He threw 74 of his 105 pitches for strikes and generated 13 swings and misses with a mix of split-finger fastballs and cutters. His control limited Toronto to only two baserunners after the second inning. “He just keeps attacking the zone. He’s relentless,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.

Yamamoto’s outing was the first World Series complete game by a Dodgers pitcher since Clayton Kershaw in 2015. The Dodgers signed Yamamoto in 2023, to a 12-year, $325 million contract, the largest fully guaranteed deal ever awarded to a pitcher at the time. In his first MLB season in 2024, he went 7-2 with a 3.00 ERA and played a key role in Los Angeles’ World Series championship run. With the win, Los Angeles evened the series at one game each before the Fall Classic shifts to Dodger Stadium for Game 3.