Yoshinobu Yamamoto's arms were so tired that he needed help lifting the World Series MVP trophy.
That's hardly a surprise considering how much he did in the final two games of this seven-game classic.
Yamamoto completed one of the best pitching performances in World Series history, pitching 2 2/3 scoreless innings to complete the decider. This came a day after he threw 96 pitches in Game 6 and also threw a four-hitter in Game 2, helping Los Angeles repeat as champions in a fantastic series against the Toronto Blue Jays.
“It's just crazy,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of Yamamoto's heavy workload. “I'm a little crazy for sending him back. But I just felt like he was the best option.”
It's hard to argue here. The 27-year-old Japanese ace walked out of a jam in the ninth inning, leaving the bases loaded and the score tied at 4-4. Walking in the 10th, he walked Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s leadoff double in the 11th to maintain a 5-4 lead and clinch Los Angeles' second straight title.
“Yamamoto is the GOAT!” Roberts shouted minutes before the Dodgers lifted the World Series trophy.
However, even Yamamoto wasn't sure he could get the job done in Game 7.
“To be honest, before I came, I wasn't sure if I could perform at my best there,” he said through a translator. “But when I started to warm up, because I started to adjust a little bit, that’s when I started to think I could go out and get the job done.”
Yamamoto is the fourth pitcher to win games six and seven of the same World Series, tied with Randy Johnson in 2001, Harry Brechin in 1946 and Ray Kremer in 1925. He and Johnson are the only pitchers since 1969 to win three games in a single World Series.
Yamamoto's Game 7 cap is headed to the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.
“It was unbelievable,” said catcher Will Smith, who hit the Dodgers' homer in the tiebreaker in the 11th. “You know, I talked to him yesterday. I said, “Hey, if you give us one, we'll win.” He gave us three. It was special. He will have several months off. I know he's going to need it, but I'm just happy for him. It was amazing.”
Signed before last season from Japan on a 12-year, $325 million contract, Yamamoto went 3-0 with a 1.09 earned run average against the Toronto Blue Jays. The 27-year-old struck out 15 and walked two in 17 2/3 innings, allowing two runs and 10 hits.
“He's one of the best players in the game,” Toronto player Addison Barger said. “He did a great job. It's a little strange that he came and bowled today after yesterday. I don’t know what they’re doing there, how he did it without tearing his arm off.”
Game 2 gem
Blue Jays slugger George Springer said Yamamoto's deep arsenal of pitches is a key part of what makes him so tough.
“He's elite,” Springer said. “There's no other way to describe it. He's elite. He can control six or seven different types of spins, and obviously those splits are difficult to do.”
The right-hander's gem in Game 2 was his second straight complete game in the postseason. He retired the final 20 batters in the Dodgers' 5–1 victory.
This came after a three-hitter against Milwaukee in the National League Championship Series, the first complete game of the postseason in eight years.
No pitcher has gone the distance in the Fall Classic since Kansas City's Johnny Cueto threw a two-hitter against the New York Mets in Game 2 of the 2015 World Series.
Yamamoto was not as sharp in Game 6, allowing one run and five hits over six innings as Los Angeles won 3–1 to force a Game 7.
Including a win in Game 2 of last year's World Series against the New York Yankees, Yamamoto is 4-0 with a 1.13 ERA in four Fall Classic appearances.
Arizona ace Curt Schilling was the last pitcher to throw consecutive complete games in the postseason, hitting three in a row in the NL Division Series and the 2001 NLCS.
Orel Hershiser was the last Dodgers pitcher to hit solo hits in a series in Games 2 and 5 against Oakland in 1988. Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax pitched two complete games each in 1963 and 1965.
Yamamoto played 12 complete games over the last three seasons for the Oryx Buffaloes of the Japan Pacific League before joining the Dodgers.
