by Cary Osborne
A relentless desire to compete and win.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto embodied that. He did when he warmed up in the bullpen in Game 3 of the World Series in the 18th inning two days after pitching a complete game in a Dodger victory.
But to earn the final eight outs of Game 7 of the World Series the day after pitching six innings in a Dodger win in Game 6? It’s the stuff of legend.
Yamamoto earned his third victory of the World Series, coming into Game 7 in relief in the ninth inning with two on and one out. He posted zeroes long enough for the Dodgers to fight their way back into the game and complete one of the all-time comebacks with a 5–4 win in 11 innings against the Blue Jays in Toronto on Saturday.
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“When I started in the bullpen before I went in, to be honest, I was not really sure if I could pitch up there to my best ability,” Yamamoto said. “But as I started getting warmed up, because I started making a little bit of an adjustment, then I started thinking I can go in and do my job.”
The Dodgers are the first back-to-back World Series champions since the New York Yankees from 1998–2000 and first National League back-to-back champions since the 1975–1976 Cincinnati Reds.
It was one of the greatest Game 7s in World Series history. The Dodgers erased deficits of 3–0 and 4–2.
Max Muncy got the Dodgers within striking distance with a solo home run in the eighth inning off Game 5 hero Trey Yesavage, who struck out 12 batters in seven innings on Wednesday.
Two outs away from losing, Miguel Rojas hit a solo home run off Toronto closer Jeff Hoffman in the top of the ninth inning to tie the score 4–4. It was Rojas’ first home run since Sept. 19 and his second this year against a right-handed pitcher. It was his first postseason home run in 46 postseason appearances. It was the first game-tying home run in the ninth inning of a World Series Game 7.
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Will Smith hit a solo home run in the top of the 11th inning to give the Dodgers their first lead of the game at 5–4. It was Smith’s fourth hit to give the Dodgers a lead in the World Series.
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The Dodgers weren’t good with runners in scoring position in Game 7. Starter Shohei Ohtani was chased in the third inning. It didn’t matter.
The Dodgers fought their way back into the game with a steady line of tenacious pitching, clutch defense and just enough hitting to earn the victory.
That “relentless desire to compete and win” was a line from Dodgers President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman when describing this team’s identity.
The Dodgers began the regular season in Tokyo, found a rhythm early, lost it and lost key starting pitchers to the injured list for lengthy periods, hit cold spells, but stayed afloat and fought long enough to find solid ground.
The fight continued through the World Series — an 18-inning walk-off win, then two losses at home and finally consecutive wins in Toronto after falling behind 3–2 in the series.
“It took a lot of people within this organization to get the job done,” said utilityman and now three-time World Series champion Kiké Hernández. “The guys that were on the active roster. The guys who weren’t active on the roster. The guys who came and went throughout the season that helped us out for however long. Full team effort. Full organization effort. This World Series was epic. It was one of the best ever. And we had one of the best Game 7s ever. … It wasn’t easy. It wasn’t pretty. But we did that damn thing.”
World Series MVP Yamamoto was central throughout most of it. His complete game in Game 2 and six innings in Game 6 would have been enough to join names like Sandy Koufax and Orel Hershiser in the group of greatest performances in Dodger World Series history. His 2 2/3 innings in Game 7 now moves him to one of the great performances in Major League World Series history.
Yamamoto is the 14th pitcher in World Series history to win three games in a single Fall Classic and the first since Randy Johnson in 2001. Yamamoto is the fifth pitcher to win consecutive games in a World Series.
“That was absolutely incredible,” Smith said of Yamamoto. “The complete game, throwing six innings last night, three today — that’s insane. Insane.”
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The Dodgers have won nine World Series in franchise history — three World Series this decade: 2020, 2024 and now 2025.
“Grit, the real definition of grit, passion, and persevere for a long-term goal, and we never wavered,” said manager Dave Roberts. “It’s a long season. We started in Tokyo, and we kept going, and we persevered, and we’re the last team standing.
“We’ve put together something pretty special, I do know that,” said Roberts, now a three-time World Series champion manager. His 69 postseason wins rank third in Major League history. “ I’m proud of the players, for the fans, scouting, player development, all the stuff. To do what we’ve done in this span of time is pretty remarkable. I guess I’ll let the pundits and all the fans talk about if it’s a dynasty or not, but I’m pretty happy with where we’re at.”
2025 World Series: The stuff of a legend was originally published in Dodger Insider on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.