World Series Game 2: Yoshinobu Yamamoto looks to set the tone against the Yankees
by Megan Garcia
After Friday’s adrenaline-pumping, walk-off grand slam by Freddie Freeman, the Dodgers turn to Yoshinobu Yamamoto to build upon the momentum in Game 2 of the World Series.
The Dodgers have not secured a Game 2 win during this postseason run, but they’ve found ways to gain the series lead in the subsequent games. But with Yamamoto on the mound, his postseason track record has shown that he’s built for this moment.
Yamamoto has continued to grow as a pitcher in the postseason. He has surrendered five earned runs in 12 1/3 innings while striking out 11 in three postseason starts.
He bounced back from his five-run, three-inning start in Game 1 of the National League Division Series with a scoreless five-inning night in Game 5. In his lone start in the National League Championship Series, Yamamoto tossed 73 pitches. It marked the highest number of pitches in a postseason start for the right-hander.
“Every time I pitch the last three games, I have become more comfortable, and I’m feeling better,” Yamamoto said.
Saturday will be Yamamoto’s second act against the Yankees in 2024. He first faced the Yankees on June 7 and successfully kept them off-balanced in the batter’s box. He recorded 13 swings and misses, with his fastball racking up seven of them.
Yamamoto’s seven scoreless frames consisted of two hits and seven strikeouts while throwing a season-high 106 pitches.
His introduction to the Yankees is considered the best start of his Major League rookie season, but Yamamoto is leaning more on research than experience for his first World Series start.
“I think the experience from June will benefit me a little bit, but this is the World Series, and the lineup might also probably be different,” Yamamoto said. “I’m going to just study and get myself ready for the lineup.”
Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Anthony Volpe — a core of the Yankees’ offense — went 1-for-9 against Yamamoto back in June. Judge hit a double off Yamamoto in the first and grounded out in his following at-bat. By seeing only 16 pitches in three plate appearances against the right-hander, Judge was left with a lasting impression.
“Coming in his first year in the big leagues and already being one of the best in the game is speaks volume to him,” Judge said. “Anytime you change leagues, there’s kind of an adjustment period … it’s just a whole new environment for him to do what he did this year, how successful he was, and still be dominant in some of the some of the other things going on just shows you what type of player he is.”
Stanton, along with Gleyber Torres and Juan Soto, have been the difference-makers for the Yankees this postseason. They are the only Yankees batters with double-digit hits in October, while Stanton leads the group with six homers and 13 RBI.
But now with postseason experience — particularly in big moments — Yamamoto has the support from the Dodgers to carry on Friday’s heroics.
“I think the thing that excites me is his temperament, poise, the ability to control his emotions and still make pitches.” said manager Dave Roberts.
World Series: Yoshinobu Yamamoto looks to set the tone against the Yankees was originally published in Dodger Insider on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.