2025 World Series Game 2 Post-Game Thread: Yoshi For The Win

DODGERS 5, BLUE JAYS 1
World Series tied 1-1

Rogers Centre was ready to erupt again, with the Dodgers scuffling around offensively before finally breaking through on Kevin Gausman in the seventh inning. But the fact that we could keep this game close for that long was only due to the continued heroics of Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who spun a 105-pitch complete game victory, limiting the Blue Jays to 4 H and 1 ER (0 BB, 8 Ks), and giving our offense the chance to take and extend the lead late in Game 2.

This is Yamamoto's second straight complete game in the postseason, which is amazing. As per Sonja Chen of MLB.com:

He is the first pitcher with back-to-back complete games in the postseason since the D-backs' Curt Schilling in 2001, and the first Dodger since Orel Hershiser in 1988. The most recent pitcher with multiple complete games in the postseason was the Giants' Madison Bumgarner in 2014.

"I think that you look at Yamamoto," manager Dave Roberts said, "it's kind of the throwback in the sense of when he starts a game, he expects to finish it. And he'll go as long as I let him."

Yamamoto not only prevented the Dodgers from needing to reach into their mixed bag of a 'pen, but he also put his team in a much more favorable position now that the Series is tied 1-1. In the history of best-of-seven postgame series with the current 2-3-2 format, teams that have taken a 2-1 lead at home in Game 3 have prevailed in the series 29 of 48 times (60.4%).

Will Smith and Max Muncy broke the 1-1 tie in the seventh with solo home runs. The Dodgers manufactured two more runs in the eighth inning, on a wild pitch by Jeff Hoffman (scoring Andy Pages from third), and then Smith scoring Shohei Ohtani from third on a force out.

Watching Fangraphs' playoff odds shift will drive one crazy, but here's the recap so far: Going into the Game 1, the Dodgers had a 66.3% chance to win the 2025 World Series. After the Game 1 loss, the Dodgers' chances dipped to 48.4%. And now with the Game 2 victory, the Dodgers are back to 63.4%.

Fox analyst and former Yankee Derek Jeter noted the Dodgers' calm in the wake of the Game 1 loss: "The Dodgers have been here, they know what it takes to win," said Jeter. "They know that losing by 10 runs is the same as losing by one run. It gives the Toronto Blue Jays a lot more confidence, and they're not a team that ever lacks confidence 'cause they know they can hit. But I expect the Dodgers to bounce back."

And bounce back they did, thanks to Yamamoto's leadership and poise.

Let's look forward to Game 3 in Los Angeles!