The roar of the crowd, like a locamotive heading fullspeeed down the tracks, was deafening at Dodger Stadium on Saturday night.
52,725 screaming fans rose to their feet in unison to give Yoshinobu Yamamoto the standing ovation he so dillegently deserved.
As Yamamoto walked off the mound with one out in the seventh inning, he bowed his head in acknowledgment of the fans appreciation. In doing so, he embodied poise and power, the same characteristics needed to deliver a dominant performance against the most potent lineup in baseball on the world’s biggest and brightest stage.
In doing so, Yamamoto not only helped his team defeat the New York Yankees 4-2 in Game 2 of the World Series, but he has put the Los Angeles Dodgers within arm’s reach of another championship.
Yamamoto’s start was as close to flawless as it gets. His four-pitch mix of fastballs, splitters, sliders, and curveballs kept the Yankees’ dynamic lineup off-balance all night. For over six sensational innings, Yamamoto allowed just one solitary hit–a solo homer by Juan Soto–retiring the final 11 batters he faced, issuing just two walks with four strikeouts on only 86 pitches.
“Everything was good, and I think the location and the height in the zone, everything was working well today,” said Yamamoto through a team interpreter after the game. “I was trying to focus on facing one hitter at a time. So I was able to throw the strike when I wanted, and I was able to face the hitters one at a time.”
It was vintage Yamamoto, reminiscent of his almost immaculate outing against the same team at Yankee Stadium on June 7th. In that outing he allowed just two hits over seven shutout innings, in Game 2 of the World Series he reminded the Yankees why they were locked in a bidding war with the Dodgers for his services in the offseason.
The Dodgers broke the bank for the three-time Eiji Sawamura Award (the Japanase equivalent of the Cy Young Award) and he rewarded them by pitching with surgical precision and just enough venom to dominant the best offense in baseball during the 162-game regular season.
“He was made for those moments,” said Teoscar Hernández of his teammate. “He was doing it in Japan before he got here, and as soon as he got here, he was doing it here.”
Most analysts thought Yamamoto was done after six sensational innings. After all, he hadn’t thrown more than five innings since that June 7th start in the Bronx nearly five months ago. To end the sixth inning on Saturday, Yamamoto got Soto to ground out, and then struck out the presumptive American League MVP in Aaron Judge.
Dave Roberts surely wouldn’t bring him back for more in the seventh, not with the hottest-hitter on the planet in Giancarlo Stanton at the plate, would he?
For Roberts, the decision to leave Yamamoto in the game to face Stanton in the seventh was one of those legacy-defining moments.
Stanton, the Yankees’ hulking slugger with a postseason full of fireworks, and home runs in four consecutive games,was a towering challenge. With the bullpen already thin and a bullpen game looming in Game 4, Roberts rolled the dice and let Yamamoto try his luck. And like so many bets Roberts has taken this October, it paid off.
“I was watching how he was throwing the baseball and there wasn’t much stress in the game,” said Roberts of his decision to leave Yamamoto in the game. “Yes, he hasn’t been in the seventh inning since that Yankee game, but I really wanted him to get Stanton.”
Stanton lofted a fly ball to center, a deep sigh escaping Dodger Stadium as it dropped harmlessly into Tommy Edman’s glove. Yamamoto’s night ended two batters later to a thunderous standing ovation, his name now etched in the memory of Dodgers fans who’d waited for a night like this.
“Yoshi was really, really good today. He was on the attack,” said Edman of Yamamoto. “Watching from center field, it was fun to see how much his stuff was moving. He did a really good job keeping them off balance and just did a great job of pitching. It was really impressive to watch. He’s one of the best pitchers in the game.”
The Dodgers’ offense did the early damage, thanks to Edman, Hernández, and Freddie Freeman. The trio hit three home runs in the first three innings, with the latter two becoming the first Dodgers’ duo to hit back-to-back home runs in the World Series since Pedro Guerrero and Steve Yeager against the Yankees in 1981.
“It was special, not only for me personally, but because I put the team in front,” said Hernández of his first World Series home run. “For me, I always say it, I don’t care how I do as long as the team wins. That’s what matters for me. In this World Series, just trying to do the things that I know how to do and just help the team.”
After Edman’s solo shot and the two jabs from Hernandez and Freeman, the Dodgers’ bats went quiet—but thanks to Yamamoto, it didn’t matter.
Yamamoto’s World Series debut showcased the full range of his skills. With 42 fastballs, 21 curves, 11 splitters, and a few sliders and cutters sprinkled in, he threw 54 strikes and looked every bit like the ace the Dodgers had dreamed of when they signed him to a 12-year, $325 million deal last December.
Aaron Judge, who’d terrorized pitchers all season, fell twice to Yamamoto’s strikeouts, while other Yankee bats were left guessing, swinging at splitters that seemed to defy gravity.
“Yamamoto’s control and movement are something special,” Dodgers reliever Blake Treinen remarked. “He just doesn’t let the pressure get to him.”
And on this night, pressure was in ample supply. With Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani on the field, this was a historic clash of power—the sixth time two league home-run leaders met in a World Series and the first where both players had hit 50-plus homers during the season.
After the game, Yamamoto spoke, deflecting the praise with characteristic humility. “It’s always about putting the team in the best position to win,” he said. “I’m grateful to be able to contribute tonight.”
The Yankees were forced to acknowledge the mastery on the mound. “He’s really good,” said Yankees first baseman Anthony Rizzo. “He’s electric. His split seems like it goes three different ways. He throws strikes. He keeps his composure. I can see why he’s had so much success in Japan and so much success here this year.”
Yankees’ manager Aaron Boone echoed this, pointing out the challenges of staying patient when Yamamoto attacked early and often.
“Once he got a little bit of that lead, he kind of got into a rhythm, really did a good job of attacking at strike one,” said Boone of watching Yamamoto from the dugout.” It was hard to be patient with him when he was on the attack and getting ahead. I thought his stuff was good. I thought his fastball was good, slowing us down with a little curveball, and then the slider and the split of course. I thought he was on his game tonight.”
This wasn’t the first time the Yankees had felt Yamamoto’s dominance; he threw seven scoreless innings against them in June. Since coming back from a late-season shoulder injury, the Dodgers have been cautious with their prized ace, but after Game 2, any lingering concerns about his health seemed like ancient history. Now the Dodgers hold a 2-0 lead as the series heads to New York, with Yamamoto slated to pitch again in a potential Game 6.
As the Dodgers basked in the win, Roberts couldn’t contain his pride. “There’s something about being on this stage that brings out the best in him,” he said with a satisfying grin.
With a bullpen game on the horizon and the season teetering on the edge of greatness, Yamamoto’s gem couldn’t have come at a better time for Los Angeles. The Dodgers now sit just two wins away from another World Series title, and thanks to Yamamoto, they’ll enter Yankee Stadium with the swagger of champions in waiting, ready to deliver one final knockout blow to the Bronx Bombers.