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Yoshinobu Yamamoto watched a popout to third baseman Max Muncy end yet another incredible pitching performance, this time to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers over the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 2 of the World Series.
Yamamoto completed his second straight postseason complete game, and he joined some rare MLB company in doing so.
Yamamoto, who led the way for Los Angeles in the 5-1 victory to even the “Fall Classic” at one game apiece, gave up just four hits and one earned run while striking out eight Blue Jays hitters.
“Outstanding, uber competitive, special,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of his star pitcher. “Yeah, he was just locked in tonight.”
The much-needed pitching performance for the Dodgers led Yamamoto to become the first pitcher since Curt Schilling to pitch consecutive complete games in the postseason.
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Schilling, who pitched for the 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks, did it three straight times as he was money in Games 1 and 5 of the NLDS as well as Game 3 of the NLCS.
The last postseason complete game before Yamamoto’s on Sunday was Justin Verlander, who did so with the Houston Astros during their controversial World Series-winning 2017 season.
The start wasn’t necessarily the best for Yamamoto, as the leadoff hitter got on base for the Blue Jays in each of the first three innings. In fact, George Springer and Nathan Lukes made it runners on first and third with no outs in the bottom of the first inning.
But Yamamoto got out of that jam and others, with his only blemish a sacrifice fly given up to Alejandro Kirk through his nine innings of work. The fastball-splitter combo was working well for him again, while his 74 mph curveball was fooling hitters all night as well.
With Yamamoto setting the tone on the mound for Los Angeles, Kevin Gausman was doing the same for the Blue Jays. But that was until the top of the seventh inning when Will Smith and Muncy went yard to make it a 3-1 game.
The Dodgers would add two more runs to give Yamamoto a cushion, but even with the two-run lead, he appeared so locked in that those runs never mattered in the end.
“He was just that good,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said, per Sports Illustrated. “He made it hard for us to make him work. He was in the zone, split was in and out of the zone. It was a really good performance by him.”
The World Series now moves to Dodger Stadium this week with Game 3 at 8 p.m. ET on Monday night.
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