Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitched a World Series game from another era.
Sandy Koufax had October outings like this, and so did Orel Hershiser, but those types of performances have vanished in modern baseball. Until this 178cm starter from Japan delivered like the aces of old.
Yamamoto threw a four-hitter for his second consecutive complete game, the first in the World Series since 2015, and the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-1 on Saturday night to tie their best-of-seven matchup at one game apiece.
Photo: EPA
“It’s kind of the throwback,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “When he starts a game, he expects to finish it.”
Coming off a three-hitter against Milwaukee in the National League Championship Series (NLCS) that was the first postseason complete game in eight years, Yamamoto struck out eight, walked none and retired his final 20 batters.
No pitcher had gone the distance in the Fall Classic since Kansas City’s Johnny Cueto fired a two-hitter against the New York Mets in Game 2 a decade ago.
No pitcher had thrown consecutive complete games in the postseason since Arizona ace Curt Schilling, who tossed three in a row in the 2001 NL Division Series and NLCS.
Orel Hershiser had been the last Dodgers pitcher with a solo Series effort, in Games 2 and 5 against Oakland in 1988. Koufax pitched two Series complete games each in 1963 and 1965.
Yamamoto smiled when asked about achieving a feat similar to those Dodgers’ greats.
“To be honest, I’m not sure about the history, but I’m very happy about what I did today,” he said through a translator.
Will Smith had three RBIs for Los Angeles, breaking a 1-all tie with a seventh-inning home run off Kevin Gausman, who had retired 17 batters in a row. Max Muncy added another solo homer later in the inning.
It was the first postseason game in which two pitchers both set down 17 or more consecutive batters, the Elias Sports Bureau said.
Game 3 is early tomorrow at Dodger Stadium.
A 27-year-old right-hander in his second big league season, Yamamoto threw 105 pitches — 73 for strikes — after tossing 111 against the Brewers in Game 2 of the NLCS on Oct. 14.
“The baseball fan, right, they probably appreciate that,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. “You have to appreciate a complete game.”
Yamamoto pointed in the air as Muncy settled under Daulton Varsho’s game-ending popup to third, then hugged Smith, his catcher, after a 2-hour, 36-minute game, the fastest in the Series since the 2017 opener.
“I truly believe he went back out there because of what he did in the last game,” Gausman said.
Yamamoto mixed six pitches: 34 splitters, 25 fastballs averaging 96.2 mph, 23 curveballs and 13 cutters along with six sliders and four sinkers. He induced 17 swings and misses.
He threw 12 splitters in a 23-pitch first inning.
“I was trying to be in the game relaxed, but it’s the World Series. So I kind of, early on, I was throwing with unnecessary tension,” Yamamoto said. “So I just adjusted that as the game went on.”
Yamamoto pitched 12 complete games in his last three seasons with the Orix Buffaloes of Japan’s Pacific League before signing a US$325 million, 12-year contract with Los Angeles, a record for a pitcher. He improved to 5-1 over two postseasons with the Dodgers, who are 7-1 in his starts.
“He’s just not letting anything get to him,” Muncy said. “From what I’ve seen, there’s nothing that fazes him out there. He keeps his composure at all times, and he just thinks about executing his next pitch.”
Yamamoto permitted his only run in the third after he hit George Springer near his wrist with a pitch and gave up Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s single off the left-field wall. That was the last runner allowed by Yamamoto, who started his streak by retiring Alejandro Kirk on a sacrifice fly.
After returning to the dugout, Yamamoto kept making notes in his journal.
“I use that every game,” he said. “It’s more like strategic notes, and I use that to check in between innings.”
Los Angeles went ahead for the second straight night, scoring in the first when Freddie Freeman doubled after fouling off three two-strike pitches and came around on Smith’s single.
Springer’s double and Nathan Lukes’ single put runners at the corners with no outs in the bottom half, but Yamamoto struck out Guerrero, retired Kirk on a liner to first and froze Varsho with a called third strike.
“Keeping it zero there was huge,” Smith said.
Smith homered into the left-field second deck on a full-count fastball, and two batters later, Muncy hit an opposite-field drive to left off a fastball on the outside corner. Jeff Hoffman threw a run-scoring wild pitch in the eighth, and Smith followed by grounding into an RBI forceout.
A day after winning the opener 11-4 as Bo Bichette returned from a sprained knee that sidelined him for seven weeks, Toronto did not start the two-time All-Star, but inserted him as a pinch hitter in the seventh. After grounding out, he stayed in the game at second base.
The way Yamamoto was pitching, it did not matter who was hitting.
“I’ve just got to enjoy it and just be happy he’s on our team,” Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts said.
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