The World Series Goliaths from the west coast have awakened, after taking an early Game 1 pebble to the forehead from the Davids and it’s ‘game-on’ for the Blue Jays and Dodgers following a 5-1 victory at Rogers Centre on Saturday night.
It was a far-too-brief 24 hours of unbridled Jays euphoria and optimism, before, inarguably, the momentum has swung back to the West Coast and to the powerful NL champs, given their deeper starting pitching. The Dodgers, in Game 2, swatted aside the slings and arrows of Game 1 and re-emerged as World Series betting favourites, flying home to Los Angeles for Games 3-4-5, beginning Monday at Chavez Ravine.
The Jays’ relentless lineup was shut down effectively by talented righthander Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who performed what has become a rare, to the month of October, complete game, allowing a lone run in the third inning, but just four total hits, with no walks and eight strikeouts. He retired the final 20 Jays. It was his second consecutive complete game of these playoffs.
“It’s the first time we have seen him, so you get some feedback and hopefully make some adjustments,” Jays manager John Schneider observed, looking ahead to a possible rematch. “But, really, I think right now, you’re worried about (Tyler) Glasnow, Game 3. But (for Yamamoto) I think we do a really good job of making adjustments as we see guys again. Man, that was a great performance by him.”
The 27-year-old Dodgers ace, in his second MLB season since coming over from Japan, was making his fourth start of this ‘25 post-season, moving his record to 3-1, to go with a 2.20 ERA, averaging more than 7.0 innings per outing. It was the first complete game by any pitcher in the World Series since Johnny Cueto of the Royals beat the Mets 7-1, October 28, 2015. The biggest Jays threat was in the first inning, following a leadoff double by George Springer and a single by Nathan Lukes. The Jays failed to score and Yamamoto cruised.
“To be honest, I was not thinking I can complete the game because my pitch count racked up kind of quickly,” Yamamoto said, via a team interpreter. “But I’m happy I completed the game. I just adjusted as the game moved on after the first inning because it was two runners on base. But because I just like to reset my mind. Then the (second) inning, it started by hit by pitch, and I also just reset my mind. And after I gave up the run, that was still a tie (at 1-1), so I just kept going.”
Yamamoto, NL pitcher of the month in March/April and again in September, has allowed four hits or fewer in 10 of his last 11 starts, including October . His two-year playoff record is now 5-1, with 12 earned runs in 47.1 innings, with 10 walks, 41 strikeouts and a 2.28 ERA.
“Outstanding, uber-competitive, special,” manager Dave Robers began, when asked to describe his starter. “Yeah, he was just locked in tonight. It was one of those things he said before the series, losing is not an option, and he had that look.
“You know, he’s pitched in huge ball games in Japan. He’s pitched in the WBC. Players that have the weight of a country on their shoulders, that’s pressure. I just feel that part of his DNA is to just perform at a high level in big spots and control his heartbeat and just continue to make pitches. I mean, he could have went another 30, 40 pitches.”
In the dugout on the other side of the field, Kevin Gausman has been the clear ace of the Jays starting rotation, since opening day and especially after the all-star game, but in the World Series was called upon for Game 2, slotted in behind rookie Trey Yesavage, mainly due to the fact he had pitched an inning in relief in the decisive Game 7 against the Mariners. He is now available again for a possible Game 6.
Gausman, up against the Dodgers’ ace, offered another quality start, allowing three runs in 6.2 innings, with no walks and six strikeouts, at one point, retiring 17 Dodgers in a row. With the score tied at 1-1, he made two mistakes in the seventh, yielding solo homers to catcher Will Smith and third-baseman Max Muncy.
“Oh, man, Kev was really good,” Schneider enthused. “I thought he located the fastball down really well, which made the split kind of open up. Really good at-bat from Freddie (Freeman) in the first, two strikes, hits the double, RBI single, and then he was locked in. He got some early outs, got some swing-and-miss. Just looking back at the home run to Smith, he’s trying to go down and away and it leaked back up and in. Same thing to Max.”
Gausman has now made five appearances (four starts) in October, going 2-2, with a 2.55 ERA, allowing seven earned runs in 24.2 innings. He is on schedule to start a Game 6 back at Rogers Centre, if it goes that far, and explained prior to this assignment how he, now, better understands the importance of the fans and home field.
“Signing here, I didn’t necessarily understand one team for an entire country,” Gausman said. “Now I’ve been here for four years, I really understand how much they love us, how much they support us, how much they want us to succeed. If you play well in Toronto, as you’ve seen, all those guys from the 2015, 2016 teams coming back, throwing out the first pitch, like, those guys are legends.
“This city really loves its athletes, especially if you give them something to be proud of. We’re ecstatic, the love that they give us. We feel it out there and they have turned this place into such a crazy environment, such a fun place to come to work every day. Really, you drive around this city right now, it’s electric. Everybody’s talking about the Blue Jays and they’re fired up for us, and we’re excited to go out and put on a good show for them.”
Speaking of Jays icons throwing out first pitches as Gausman did, recall that on the final pitch of the previous Blue Jays World Series, 32 years earlier, Joe Carter stepped in and delivered vs. a Mitch Williams offering, sending the ball deep to left, leading to the legendary “touch ‘em all, Joe” call by the late Hall-of-Fame broadcaster, Tom Cheek Prior to this Game 2, Carter was invited back for the ceremonial first pitch. After a strike to Bo Bichette, Joe headed into the home dugout, slipped on the Home Run Jacket and high-fived his way through a gauntlet of current Jays. The Jays are looking for another hero, another moment that will touch the fans of an entire nation. Nice touch.
The series continues at Dodger Stadium, Monday, with Max Scherzer facing Tyler Glasnow.