TORONTO — Soon after Dodgers won Game 6 of the World Series, Yoshinobu Yamamoto approached his longtime personal trainer.
Lowering his head, Yamamoto said to Osamu Yada, “Thank you for everything this year.”
Yamamoto decided his season was over. He threw 96 pitches in six innings, and he was half-joking at the post-game press conference that he wanted to cheer for his team and not pitch again the next day. Manager Dave Roberts thought the same thing, saying Yamamoto would be the only pitcher unavailable for Game 7.
The coach had other ideas.
“Let's see if you can throw the bullpen tomorrow,” Yada said.
Just by being in the bullpen, Yada said, Yamamoto could give the Dodgers a psychological edge over the Toronto Blue Jays.
“That’s how I was deceived,” Yamamoto said in Japanese with a laugh.
Yada's guiding hand turned Yamamoto into a Saturday night legend.
Pitching the last 2 ⅔ innings of the 11th inning, championship victory with a score of 5-4 over Toronto Blue JaysYamamoto won his third game of the tournament. World Series.
When he got Alejando Kirk to ground out into a game-ending double play, Yamamoto took off his cap and raised his hands to the sky. Catcher Will Smith rushed up the hill and picked him up by the waist.
“I felt a joy that I had never felt before,” Yamamoto said.
Dodgers catcher Will Smith receives Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto after finishing a 5-4, 11-inning victory over the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 7 of the World Series on Saturday.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Yamamoto introduced complete the game in the second game. He pitched six more in Game 6. His contribution in Game 7 brought his run total to 17 ⅔ innings, of which he allowed only two runs.
This comeback earned him the series Most Valuable Player award as well as widespread admiration.
“I really think he's the No. 1 pitcher in the world.” Shohei Ohtani said in Japanese. “Everyone on the team thinks so too.”
Freddie Freeman admired the workload taken on by the 5ft 10in Yamamoto, who had been out for three months last year with shoulder problems.
“I mean, he pitched last night, started,” Freeman said. “He threw the most innings of any of our pitchers tonight.”
Freeman noted that in addition to serving in three games, Yamamoto also warmed up before serving in the fourth. Two days after finishing the game in Game 2, he prepared in the bullpen for a potential 19th inning in Game 3. The Dodgers won the game in the 18th inning.
“I’ve never seen anything like this,” Freeman said.
President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman said of Yamamoto's performance in Game 7: “For him to have what he did the night before is truly the greatest accomplishment I've ever seen on a major league baseball field.”
Did Friedman think any other pitcher could do what Yamamoto did in this series?
“No, I don’t,” Friedman said. “Actually, yesterday morning I didn't necessarily think Yama could either.”
Friedman said he didn't think much of it when he was notified after Game 6 that Yamamoto was being treated by Yada at the team hotel with the intention of possibly competing in Game 7. The next morning, Friedman was told that Yamamoto had undergone another round of treatment.
The possibility of Yamamoto serving in Game 7 became a reality for Friedman after he executed his signature javelin routine and caught the ball at Rogers Center. Yamamoto still wasn't convinced.
Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, left, celebrates with Shohei Ohtani and teammates after a 5-4 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 7 of the World Series at Rogers Center on Saturday.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
“I didn’t think I would compete,” Yamamoto said. “But I felt good when I was practicing, and the next thing I knew I was on the mound (in the game).”
Translator Yamamoto, Yoshihiro Sonodawas prepared.
The superstitious Sonoda wears the same lucky underwear on Yamamoto's performance days. He wore boxers with rabbit for Game 6. Feeling that Yamamoto could serve the ball again, Sonoda wore the same boxers for Game 7.
“Just in case,” Sonoda admitted, “I didn’t wash them.”
Yamamoto has never competed for multiple days in a row as a professional in either the United States or Japan. When he was called to help Blake Snell in the ninth inning, he was unsure of how he would perform.
Inheriting two baserunners with one out from Snell, Yamamoto loaded the bases by hitting Kirk. He got Dalton Varsho to ground out on the home plate, only to throw a curveball to Ernie Clement, which was driven toward the wall in left field. Replacement defenseman Andy Pages bumped into Kike Hernandez on the warning track but kept the ball, preventing the Blue Jays from scoring.
Yamamoto pitched a 1-2-3 10th inning and went into the bottom of the 11th with a 5-4 lead thanks to Smith's leadoff homer in the inning.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. started the inning with a 96.9 mph fastball for a double and advanced to third base on Isaiah Kiner-Falefa's sacrifice bunt. Yamamoto walked Addison Barger to put runners on the corners, leading to Kirk's game-ending double play.
“I really couldn’t believe it,” Yamamoto said. “I was so excited that I couldn't even remember what pitch I threw at the end. When my teammates ran up to me, I felt the most joy I had felt up to that point.”
Clayton Kershawwhom Yamamoto wanted to retire with another championship, hugged him tighter than ever. Roberts hugged him.
Yamamoto was moved to tears.
Shocked by this moment, Yamamoto did not seem to realize the magnitude of what he had just done. In time he will do it.
On the night the Dodgers solidified their dynasty, Yamamoto made the World Series his.
