MILWAUKEE — Following Blake Snell’s stellar performance, Yoshinobu Yamamoto delivered a masterclass of his own, propelling the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 2-0 series advantage over the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Championship Series.
Despite surrendering a home run on the game’s very first pitch, Yamamoto recovered brilliantly, silencing the Brewers’ bats thereafter with a complete-game three-hitter to secure a 5-1 victory for the defending champions in Game 2 on Tuesday night.
The right-hander’s effort marked the first postseason complete game by a Dodgers pitcher since 2004. He is also the first pitcher from any team to achieve the feat since Justin Verlander did so for the Houston Astros in the 2017 ALCS.
“I think if you look at the construction of our roster currently, the strength is starting pitching,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. “And when you can have your most talented pitchers get the most outs, then you’re in a good spot.”
In a dominant 111-pitch performance, Yamamoto (2-1) struck out seven batters and issued just one walk. The outing was his first complete game in 54 combined regular-season and playoff starts over his two years with the Dodgers.
The Dodgers provided their starter with run support via solo home runs from Teoscar Hernández and Max Muncy off Brewers ace Freddy Peralta.
The best-of-seven series now shifts to Los Angeles for Game 3 on Thursday. Historically, teams that have taken a 2-0 lead in the LCS under this format have advanced to the World Series 14 out of 17 times.
Yamamoto’s masterpiece came on the heels of Snell’s Game 1 showing, where he held the Brewers to one hit over eight scoreless innings in a narrow 2-1 Dodgers win.
“They were both great,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said of the Dodgers’ starters. “Both those pitchers were as dominant as two pitchers have been. We chased way more than we’ve chased all year. We’ve been the best in baseball at not chasing. These pitchers brought out the worst in us.”
The Brewers, who earned the top playoff seed after a franchise-record 97 wins, have managed just one run and five total hits across the first two games of the series.
