Yoshinobu Yamamoto Makes Playoff History as Dodgers Take Commanding 2-0 NLCS Lead

With Tuesday’s 5-1 win over the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 2 of the NLCS, the Dodgers have now improved to 7-1 this postseason, taking a commanding 2-0 series lead over the top-seeded Brewers.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto was the story of the night. The Japanese star threw a rare postseason complete game. 

As CBS Sports, noted, it was the first postseason complete game in the MLB since Justin Verlander in 2017 and the Dodgers’ first since Jose Lima’s unforgettable 2004 outing. 

After giving up a leadoff solo shot to Jackson Chourio in the first inning, Yamamoto locked in, allowing just three hits, one walk and no runs while striking out seven. 

Dodgers Offense Gets Hot

After the Brewers’ early fireworks, the Dodgers quickly countered. Teoscar Hernández launched a game-tying homer in the second inning before Kiké Hernández doubled and scored on an Andy Pages RBI hit to make it 2-1.

From there on, the Dodgers never looked back.

Max Muncy added insurance with a solo homer in the sixth, while Shohei Ohtani’s RBI single in the seventh and Tommy Edman’s base hit in the eighth padded the lead. 

The Dodgers tallied 11 hits, with key production coming from the bottom of the order as Teoscar Hernández, Kiké Hernández, and Edman all recorded multi-hit games. 

The Dodgers lineup has been so balanced all postseason long and has really made up for Shohei Ohtani who has really struggled. Ohtani is 2-24 since the Wild Card round. 

Starting Rotation Continues to be Lights Out 

The Dodgers’ starting rotation has been nearly unhittable for over a month and their dominance has only ramped up in October. 

Since September 1, L.A.’s starters have combined for a 1.94 ERA, the lowest in baseball over that span, while averaging over 10 strikeouts per nine innings and holding opposing hitters to a .187 batting average.

That trend has carried straight into the postseason, where the group has posted a 1.78 ERA through eight games, allowing just nine earned runs in 45⅓ innings. 

Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s complete game in Game 2 added another chapter to this historic run, following Blake Snell’s eight scoreless innings in Game 1 and Tyler Glasnow’s six shutout frames against Philadelphia in the NLDS. 

Snell and Yamamoto have combined for 17 innings in the first two games of the NLCS only giving up 1 combined run and four combined hits. 

These types of numbers are absolutely mind-boggling and simply just historic. The Dodgers are two games away from the World Series. 

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