TORONTO -- Yoshinobu Yamamoto came into the 2025 World Series as one of the most accomplished active players in baseball, having won championships in Nippon Professional Baseball and Major League Baseball and gold medals in the Olympics and the World Baseball Classic.
But it was two starts and a relief appearance on zero days' rest last Fall Classic that truly cemented Yamamoto's status as a legend in the eyes of the Dodgers.
"This guy's a winner, and he's shown that he'll do whatever it takes to win," manager Dave Roberts said before Tuesday night's 4-1 win over the Blue Jays. "That’s part of his DNA."
Blue Jays fans let Yamamoto know that they remembered what he did to their team when his name was called ahead of the contest, welcoming him back to Rogers Centre with a chorus of boos. And in his return to the mound where he earned World Series MVP honors, Yamamoto put on a strong encore performance.
Opposing Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman in a rematch of Games 2 and 6, Yamamoto again outdueled his counterpart on the mound, striking out six across six-plus innings of one-run ball and allowing five hits and one walk.
In his first inning, Yamamoto struck out the side on 11 pitches, making quick work of George Springer, Daulton Varsho and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. He gave up a knock to lead off the second, with right fielder Kyle Tucker struggling to get a read on a Jesús Sánchez fly ball that dropped over his head for a double.
Yamamoto appeared undeterred by having a runner in scoring position. He retired his next 12 batters in a row, a streak that ended when Andrés Giménez singled to lead off the sixth inning. Two batters later, Yamamoto gave up an RBI double to George Springer and followed by walking Daulton Varsho, giving the Blue Jays their best chance against him that evening.
But Yamamoto was able to take care of business, getting a pair of grounders from Guerrero and Sánchez to get out of the jam with just the one run allowed. He came out for the seventh inning but did not record an out, leaving runners on the corners for Alex Vesia. Vesia walked the bases loaded -- putting the go-ahead run aboard -- but managed to get out of the inning cleanly.