The Los Angeles Dodgers didn’t need their bullpen on Saturday night. They didn’t even crack the door open for it.
At Rogers Centre in Toronto, Yoshinobu Yamamoto delivered one of those performances that etches a player’s name into postseason lore — a complete-game masterpiece that silenced the Blue Jays, 5–1, in Game 2 of the World Series. With the victory, the Dodgers evened the series at one game apiece as it now shifts to Los Angeles for Monday night’s Game 3.
It wasn’t just a win; it was a statement. A reminder that when Yamamoto is on the mound, the Dodgers’ biggest question mark — their bullpen — can take the night off.
A Duel of Aces
For six innings, it was an old-school pitcher’s duel straight out of October’s golden age — two elite arms refusing to blink.
Kevin Gausman, Toronto’s steady right-hander, was almost flawless through the middle innings. After allowing a first-inning RBI single to Dodgers catcher Will Smith, he retired 17 consecutive batters. But in the seventh, his precision cracked. A full-count fastball caught too much of the plate, and Smith crushed it 404 feet into the left-field seats to break a 1–1 tie.
Two batters later, Max Muncy followed with another solo shot, chasing Gausman from the game and shifting the night’s narrative entirely. Gausman left to a standing ovation — and the uneasy realization that Yamamoto had been even better.
“His splitter was really good, and he wasn’t missing,” Gausman said afterward. “Sometimes you just tip your cap.”
Yamamoto’s October Calm
The 26-year-old Japanese phenom had every reason to lose his rhythm early. Toronto opened the first inning with runners on the corners and no outs — Rogers Centre shaking, noise building, nerves tested.
Then came the calm. Strikeout. Lineout. Strikeout. Threat over.
From that point forward, Yamamoto retired the final 20 batters he faced, finishing his 105-pitch gem with a gentle popup to third base. It was the first World Series complete game since Johnny Cueto’s for Kansas City in 2015 — and Yamamoto’s second straight complete game this postseason. The last man to do that in October? Madison Bumgarner.
“Once we got out of that first inning, I just felt like he was going to settle in,” said catcher Will Smith, who caught both of Yamamoto’s postseason complete games. “You just ride him, see how far he can go. He was dominant.”
Dominant might be an understatement. Yamamoto allowed just four hits, struck out eight, walked none, and needed only 105 pitches to get through nine innings. His mix was surgical — 34 splitters, 32 curveballs, 25 fastballs (averaging 96 mph), 13 cutters, six sliders, and even three sinkers. Every pitch seemed to arrive with a purpose, and none with fear.
“He’s pitched in huge ballgames in Japan, pitched for his country in the World Baseball Classic,” manager Dave Roberts said. “That experience shows. He controls his heartbeat better than most players I’ve ever managed.”
The Art of the Splitter
Yamamoto’s splitter was the star of the night. Time and again, it fell off the table just as Toronto hitters committed. George Springer, one of the few Jays to solve him for a hit, was still shaking his head afterward.
“He was unbelievable,” Springer said. “He mixed five or six pitches, never gave us the same look twice. You can’t sit on anything.”
By the fourth inning, Yamamoto had complete command of his rhythm. His motion — compact, efficient, almost balletic — mirrored his demeanor. The mound was his stage, and every pitch was a choreographed expression of control.
Freddie Freeman, no stranger to great pitching after 15 years in the majors, summed it up simply: “He had everything working — the splitter early, the curve later, and even a few sliders that made you blink. There’s a reason we went so hard to get him.”
Will Smith: The Steady Hand Behind the Plate
If Yamamoto was the star, Smith was the conductor. He not only caught every pitch of the complete game but also drove in three of the Dodgers’ five runs, including the pivotal home run that changed the game’s tone.
“He can kind of do everything,” Smith said of Yamamoto in a postgame interview on FOX. “He can locate his fastball so well, he’s got the curveball, the splitter, the cutter — he just had everything going tonight.”
Smith’s own postseason has been remarkable. Through ten playoff games, the 30-year-old is batting .314 with a .400 on-base percentage, driving in six runs and serving as the emotional and tactical core of LA’s playoff run.
His seventh-inning homer wasn’t loud just because of its distance — it was the timing, the swing that punctured Gausman’s rhythm and brought life back to the Dodgers’ dugout.
“He threw me all fastballs,” Smith said, grinning. “Finally got one up in the zone — and put a good swing on it.”
Blue Jays’ Missed Chances
Toronto had its shot early — first and third, no outs, in the bottom of the first inning. But Yamamoto’s poise turned that inning into a microcosm of the night. The Jays’ lone run came on a third-inning sacrifice fly. After that, nothing.
Bo Bichette’s pinch-hit appearance in the seventh was one of Toronto’s few attempts to change the script. Yamamoto handled that too, coaxing an easy out to end the frame. The eighth? Three up, three down — all strikeouts. By the ninth, even the home crowd seemed to recognize what they were watching: history in progress.
“He’s just not letting anything get to him,” said Max Muncy. “He threw 20-something pitches in the first inning, and still got through nine. That’s just rare composure.”
Dodgers Offense: Not the 2024 Slugfest, But Effective
Last October, the Dodgers slugged their way through the postseason, hitting 29 home runs in 16 games. This year’s group hasn’t been quite as explosive — but more efficient. They’ve learned to win with balance: timely hitting, controlled aggression, and elite pitching.
The insurance runs in the eighth — capped by another RBI from Smith — didn’t just pad the score; they emphasized how this Dodgers team has evolved. They can grind when needed, and they can explode when given a mistake.
A Night to Remember — and a Series Reset
When Yamamoto induced that final popup for the last out, the bullpen door remained closed. The Dodgers gathered at the mound, calm and businesslike. The mission wasn’t to celebrate; it was to reset. The World Series was tied again.
As the series heads to Los Angeles for Monday night’s Game 3, the pitching matchup is mouthwatering: Max Scherzer vs. Tyler Glasnow.
At 41, Scherzer — a future Hall of Famer — is making his fourth World Series appearance, chasing what could be his final shot at October glory. “This is what you play for,” Scherzer said. “To get to this spot, this moment. You never take it for granted.”
Opposite him stands Glasnow, 32, who’s been nearly unhittable this postseason with a 0.68 ERA across 13⅓ innings. Two pitchers at different stages of their careers. Two teams tied, one win apiece, and both fully aware that Game 3 could tilt the balance of the Fall Classic.
Baseball the Way It Was Meant to Be
Saturday night was everything purists love about baseball — rhythm, tension, execution, and one man’s control of the moment. Yoshinobu Yamamoto wasn’t overpowering in the way of Nolan Ryan or Randy Johnson. He was precise, cerebral, surgical — pitching in layers, not in brute force.
That’s what made it so beautiful.
As the Dodgers flew back to Los Angeles, they carried with them something far more important than a split series — belief. Belief that their ace can neutralize any lineup. Belief that their catcher can lead a staff through any storm. And belief that this team, even without last year’s offensive fireworks, is built to win it all.
Final Score: Dodgers 5, Blue Jays 1
Series: Tied 1–1
Next Game: Game 3 — Monday, Dodger Stadium (Scherzer vs. Glasnow)