After Toronto Blue Jays opened the World Series with a dominant victory over Los Angeles DodgersThe defending champions took revenge in the second game.
On Saturday night in Toronto, the Dodgers evened the Fall Classic with a convincing 5-1 victory with big home runs in the seventh inning. Will Smith And Max Muncy and dominant performance of the entire game from Yoshinobu Yamamoto. They head home for Game 3 on Monday.
Here's how Los Angeles' victory went, from our in-game analysis to our post-game takeaways.
Key links: World Series schedule, results
Takeaway
Series equals 1
It all ended when…: The Dodgers scored a pair of insurance runs in the eighth inning, one frame after chasing two solo home runs. Kevin Gausman from the game. Gausman retired 17 times in a row and traveled until Will Smith hit a home run down the left field line. Max Muncy he followed with two more batters later for a 3–1 lead. The Dodgers scored two more runs in the eighth, one on a wild pitch and one on a grounder, giving Yoshinobu Yamamoto lots of pillow, even if he doesn't need it. –Jeff Passan
Game 2 stars: Yamamoto pitched his second straight complete game this October and needed 105 pitches to complete his gem with four hits, eight strikeouts and no walks. When the Dodgers signed Yamamoto to a 13-year, $325 million contract, they believed he would become one of the best pitchers in Major League Baseball. Two seasons later, with a 2.28 postseason ERA in eight playoff starts, he's already proven he has it. And the fact that he did it against a powerful Blue Jays offense made his performance on Saturday even more impressive. – They pass
Statistics that defined the game: The last pitcher to throw two complete games in a row in the postseason was Curt Schilling (three in a row) in 2001. — ESPN Research
What's next for the Blue Jays: The Blue Jays will give the ball to the 41-year-old Max Scherzerhoping the future Hall of Famer can repeat his performance in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series. The right-hander, trailing 2-1 in the series, took the lead. Seattle Mariners to two runs in 5 â…” innings in his first start in three weeks. Scherzer should expect a rough reception at Dodger Stadium, four years after he said he was unable to start Game 6 of the 2021 NLCS due to arm fatigue. The Dodgers lost that night and were eliminated from the postseason. Dodgers fans probably haven't forgotten. Offensively, Toronto is trying to bounce back from an uncharacteristically poor home performance in Game 2. The Blue Jays also scored just seven runs and lost two of three games in Los Angeles in August. — Jorge Castillo
What's next for the Dodgers: The Dodgers will hope Tyler Glasnow can not only pick up where Yamamoto left off after his mastery over the Blue Jays in Game 2, but also continue what has been a dominant postseason. In two starts against Milwaukee Brewers And Philadelphia PhilliesGlasnow allowed just 1 run on 5 hits in 11â…” innings, striking out 16 batters. Both of these starts, as well as the next one, took place at home, which is ideal; Glasnow had a 2.77 ERA in 11 starts at Dodger Stadium during the regular season, as opposed to a 4.08 ERA in seven starts on the road. — Alden Gonzalez
