Category: Baseball

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LOS ANGELES — When Yoshinobu Yamamoto joined the Dodgers last December, he made a strong declaration: He would stop admiring the players he looked up to and instead “strive to become the player that others want to become.”

Ten months later, manager Dave Roberts leisurely emerged from the dugout in the seventh inning Saturday night at Dodger Stadium and took the ball from Yamamoto, but not before shaking the 26-year-old’s hand and giving him a quick hug on the mound. In his first career World Series appearance, in the midst of his first big-league postseason, facing a Yankees lineup featuring the presumptive American League MVP and a pending free-agent superstar set to test the boundaries of every competitive owner’s pocketbooks, Yamamoto delivered the type of outing the Dodgers dreamed about when they made him baseball’s wealthiest pitcher last offseason. 

“From pitch one, you knew he had his good stuff all night,” Freddie Freeman, the previous night’s hero, said after Los Angeles’ 4-2 Game 2 win. “Just an awesome first start in a World Series, everything we needed out of him. He delivered.”

[RELATED: Full coverage of the World Series] 

Yamamoto had already dominated the Yankees once in New York, supplying seven scoreless innings in a performance many pointed to as a case study in his ability to handle the sport’s highest-pressure environments. Nearly five months later, three of which were spent rehabilitating a shoulder injury that might have stemmed from that overpowering outing, he did it again at home in the most consequential start of his career, moving the Dodgers two wins away from the ultimate prize by carving up a Yankees team that had once envisioned him wearing pinstripes. 

A standing ovation from 52,725 fans, many chanting “Yo-shi,” awaited Yamamoto on his walk off the mound after allowing one run in 6.1 innings in his longest start since his tour de force in the Bronx. 

“I’m really proud of him,” Mookie Betts said. 

Beyond the significance of the stage, there was one considerable difference Saturday compared to his previous start against the Yankees: This time, he had to face Juan Soto. If not for the Yankees lefty, Yamamoto would have held New York off the scoreboard again. 

The only blemish on Yamamoto’s night came in the third inning, when Soto turned on an inside fastball on the sixth pitch of the at-bat for a solo shot. That was the only hit Yamamoto would surrender. He retired the next 11 batters he faced, which included striking out Aaron Judge a second time, before Roberts handed the game over to the Dodgers’ bullpen. 

The outing was the first time Yamamoto had gone more than five innings since returning from his shoulder injury on Sept. 10, seven starts ago. 

“Obviously, coming over to this league can be a big-time culture shock,” reliever Daniel Hudson said. “This country, this league, is completely different than what he was growing up in, playing over there, so everybody kind of figured there was kind of going to be some growing pains there. But he’s got elite stuff, he’s got a good head on his shoulders. … We were pretty pumped to get him back there at the end of the year.”

Last year in Japan, Yoshinobu Yamamoto built a reputation for bouncing back, most notably on the country’s biggest stage. He allowed seven runs in Game 1 of the Japan Series only to rebound with a 138-pitch, series-record 14-strikeout complete-game masterpiece. 

In his first taste of the big-league postseason, it looked similar. He labored through three innings against San Diego in Game 1 of the National League Division Series, then helped the Dodgers vanquish their first-round demons with five scoreless innings in the deciding Game 5. Gavin Lux noted then that Yamamoto had “a little Walker Buehler in him,” referring to his big-game prowess. 

In the most pivotal performance of his big-league career Saturday night, Yamamoto didn’t need a feeling-out process. There was no need for a rebound. He was nails all night, just as Dodgers vice president of player personnel Galen Carr, who scouted Yamamoto multiple times in Japan, predicted before the start. 

“It’s hard to really put yourself in these guys’ shoes when they’re changing leagues, changing countries, changing cultures and everything about it is different — the ball, the mound, the schedule, the travel,” Carr said. 

Yamamoto said he considers last year’s Japan Series experience as wholly different from his first major-league postseason, in large part because this is his first season in a new league. What Yamamoto and the people close to him believed, according to Carr, is that after an adjustment period, he would thrive. 

After allowing five runs in three innings in his first playoff start, Yamamoto held the Padres scoreless his next time out. Then he struck out eight in his lone start of the NLCS versus the Mets before registering a nearly flawless World Series outing against one of the most patient and powerful lineups in the sport. 

“Every time I pitch, the last three games, I become more comfortable,” Yamamoto said through a translator before Game 2 of the World Series. 

This time, he triumphed in a different way against the Yankees. Back in June, he featured more of his slider than ever before. It was that pitch that helped guide his success in his lone start of the NLCS, too.

But he didn’t need it to flourish again in his sequel against the Yankees. His slider was responsible for only two of his 12 whiffs in Game 2 of the World Series. Yamamoto relied heavily on his four-seamer, which he commanded erratically early on before locking in the second time through the lineup, and a curveball that dropped in for six called strikes. 

“He seems a little bit more in control trusting his stuff,” shortstop Miguel Rojas said. “Especially at the beginning of the year, he didn’t know the hitters, he didn’t know the league. But it’s not a surprise for me because I know the pedigree of this guy, where he’s coming from, what he did in Japan. I’m excited for him because games like this in the first year, when he comes to the United States, it’s going to give him a great boost of energy and confidence.”

A home run from NLCS MVP Tommy Edman gave Yamamoto an early lead. When Solo’s blast tied it up, the depth of the Dodgers’ lineup became apparent. Teoscar Hernández answered immediately with a two-run shot, followed by a solo homer from Freeman. 

Both of Freeman’s blasts in this series have conjured memories of past Dodgers World Series winners.  

His Game 1 launch was eerily similar to Kirk Gibson’s iconic 1988 Game 1 pinch-hit home run. On Saturday, Freeman’s latest feat hearkened back to the Dodgers’ 1981 Fall Classic triumph over the Yankees. That was the last time the Dodgers had hit back-to-back homers in a World Series game, courtesy of Pedro Guerrero and Steve Yeager. 

Freeman didn’t get much sleep Friday night. He was tossing and turning, in part because all three of his kids were overtired and awake, in part because he had just deposited the first walk-off grand slam in World Series history. On Saturday, he received a quick boost of energy. Freeman received the first standing ovation of the night. 

“Walking up to the plate, my first at-bat today, hard not to have a smile on the inside,” Freeman said. 

The second went to Yamamoto, after his final pitch of the night. Roberts’ trip to the mound to remove him came at a leisurely pace. 

In the bottom half of the frame, Roberts’ departure from the dugout was more hurried and concerned. The Dodgers took a commanding 2-0 lead in the series, but it might have come at a cost. Shohei Ohtani suffered a subluxation of his left shoulder when he was caught stealing in the seventh inning. 

Roberts was encouraged by Ohtani’s strength and range of motion and at this point is expecting him to be in the lineup when the series shifts to New York, though he won’t know more until further scans are completed. 

It makes the nearly flawless work from their other major offseason signing, the $325 million man, all the more important. 

“Yamamoto,” Freeman said, “was absolutely incredible.” 

Rowan Kavner is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. He previously covered the L.A. Dodgers, LA Clippers and Dallas Cowboys. An LSU grad, Rowan was born in California, grew up in Texas, then moved back to the West Coast in 2014. Follow him on Twitter at @RowanKavner.

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LOS ANGELES — Some of the reasons behind the Yankees sinking into a 0-2 hole against the Dodgers were predictable.

Carlos Rodón has had turbulent outings this postseason, and he had another one Saturday in Game 2 of the World Series. At least a couple of Yankees players have struggled defensively all year, and those repeat offenders showed up again this weekend at Chavez Ravine. The regular season routinely featured poor production from the bottom of New York’s lineup, and that was a problem in each of the first two games of the Series. 

But none of those factors are as flagrant as the biggest one — the one that the Yankees seem unprepared to overcome.

[RELATED: Full coverage of the World Series] 

Aaron Judge is lost at the plate. 

He’s striking out more often than he’s getting on base. He’s chasing pitches he would typically watch fly out of the zone. He’s rocking back and forth in the batter’s box — which, according to Yankees hitting coach James Rowson, means he’s trying to find his rhythm — rather than standing frozen and locked in like he did during his record-breaking regular season. He’s whiffing at mistakes that he would normally punish for home runs. 

Simply put, he’s not doing his job.

And when the Yankees are desperate for offense, like they have been in this star-studded Fall Classic, and one of the best hitters on the planet isn’t doing his job, the results are back-to-back losses against an elite Dodgers team that has outplayed them in every facet of the game.

“I definitely gotta step up,” Judge said after going 0-for-4 with three strikeouts in the Yankees’ 4-2 loss Saturday. “I gotta do my job, when guys are out there doing their job getting on base, I’m failing them. I’m not backing them up.”

The two other stars in the Yankees’ lineup have hit throughout October, and are virtually the only ones doing so in the Fall Classic.

Juan Soto is locked in at the plate; his solo shot in the third inning of Game 2 was the Yankees’ only hit off Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Soto’s liner off the right field wall in the ninth inning was just the second hit of the night for New York, and soon he scored its only other run when Giancarlo Stanton followed with a scorcher down the left field line. 

Sandwiched between the two rockets? Judge’s sixth strikeout of the Series. 

Soto now has four home runs, nine RBIs and a 1.160 OPS through 11 games this postseason. Stanton has six home runs, 14 RBIs and a 1.098 OPS. Judge, meanwhile, is batting .150 (6-for-40) with 19 strikeouts, two homers, six RBIs and a .605 OPS. 

“I think he made mistakes against me,” Soto said of facing Yamamoto, who struck out Judge twice. “He made a couple of good pitches in the first at-bat, and then he showed me everything. He showed me everything that he got in my first at-bat. So I was ready for anything in my second at-bat. He made a mistake and I just didn’t miss it.”

Soto, eternally bursting with confidence, seems to have the playoffs all figured out. What’s stopping Judge from achieving similar feats?

“Right now, he’s probably not feeling his best,” Soto said. “It’s just a tough moment for him right now.”

The Yankees captain acknowledged he’s been expanding the strike zone, as the world-class plate discipline that allowed him to draw the most walks (133) in the major leagues this year has escaped him. He added that his mechanics at the plate are “getting there,” and that his encouraging at-bats at the end of Game 1 didn’t translate into Game 2. Judge said the struggles he’s going through at the plate right now are “a little similar” to the struggles he faced in April, when he started the year in a slump, slashing .207/.340/.414 through his first 31 games. 

But the difference at this time of the year is that he doesn’t have the cushion of a long season ahead of him to get his mechanics straightened out. Judge has to make every pitch in the Bronx count, if not with a big hit, then at least a walk. The presumptive AL MVP noted that Yamamoto gave him a pitch to hit in the sixth inning, when he was ahead in the count 2-0 and the Dodgers righty threw him a fastball down and in. 

That’s a pitch, Judge said, that he’s usually able to connect on. Instead, he kept his bat on his shoulder and watched it settle untouched for strike one. 

“At times you want to try to make things happen instead of letting the game come to you,” Judge said. “I think that’s what it really comes down to. You see Gleyber [Torres] out there on base, Juan’s getting on base, trying to make something happen. You’re not going to get every pitch in the zone. So you have to take your walks and set up for Big G [Stanton].”

Judge puts a lot of pressure on himself to come through for his team. It’s never been about personal statistics for the six-time All-Star. What he cares about most is lifting the Yankees when they need him to — and they’ve relied on Judge throughout his career to come through in the clutch because, normally, he can. While Soto and Stanton are doing their parts, the American League champs still need Judge to be Judge if they’re going to be world champs. 

“He’s got time to help us win some games,” Stanton said.

Sure, but not much. Judge has to figure out a way to slow the game down so that he can compress the zone and tap back into the plate discipline and power that make him one of the greatest hitters of this generation. 

The Yankees ultimately cannot rise without him. 

Deesha Thosar is an MLB reporter for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Deesha grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.

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LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers stormed ahead to a 2-0 World Series lead after winning the first two games at home. The Yankees‘ offense was all but shut down by Yoshinobu Yamamoto in Game 2, which also featured an injury scare for Shohei Ohtani after he was caught stealing second base in the seventh inning. 

Here are our top four takeaways from the Dodgers’ 4-2 win Saturday.

1. Aaron Judge’s disappearing act

It’s extremely difficult to believe the Yankees will force this World Series to go the distance, much less win, without the MVP version of Judge. For the second straight day, the Dodgers’ starting pitcher completely neutralized Judge’s bat. Game 1 starter Jack Flaherty and Game 2 starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto combined to strike out Judge five times in six at-bats and didn’t allow him to reach base. Yamamoto especially looked confident facing the player who recorded the highest OPS (1.159) in baseball in the regular season.

Judge is now 1 for 9 with six strikeouts in the Fall Classic. He’s 6-for-40 in this postseason with 19 strikeouts to accompany just two home runs and six RBIs. Within a span of a few weeks, he’s gone from being the best hitter in the universe to waving at offspeed pitches like he’s an automatic out. 

The Yankees have had a hard time publicly admitting that Judge is missing pitches in the postseason that he would normally get to. Whether it’s the long layoff before the playoffs began or the break between the ALCS and the World Series, it seems entirely plausible that the lack of everyday at-bats and games have messed up Judge’s timing. That could be why he finally broke out in Game 3 of the ALCS against the Guardians with a game-tying two-run home run off top closer Emmanuel Clase. If he just needs time to warm up, then he could have a huge week ahead of him when the Series goes to the Bronx on Monday. With a championship on the line, the Yankees can only hope that’s the case. — Deesha Thosar

2. Time to give Tommy Edman his flowers

Turns out Edman’s MVP performance in the Dodgers’ NLCS against the Mets wasn’t a fluke. Los Angeles’ Swiss-army knife has picked up right where he left off, going 4-for-8 with two runs scored and an RBI in the World Series so far. His latest trick was a solo shot to left field off Carlos Rodón in the second inning to put the Dodgers on the board. 

Edman hadn’t even played this season when Andrew Friedman traded for him this summer. The Dodgers needed an infielder at the time, knowing that they didn’t want to play Mookie Betts at shortstop anymore, while factoring in that Gavin Lux and Kiké Hernandez are not everyday players. There was real risk in making him the lone position-player addition at the deadline. Nobody really knew how Edman would play after his offseason wrist surgery, which included a setback in spring training. While his performance in August and September was serviceable, Edman has been huge for the Dodgers in October. 

Not only is he showing up at the plate, but the former Gold Glover has seamlessly shifted between shortstop and center field from game to game. While his name won’t often come up on a team full of superstars, he’s been a huge coup for the Dodgers — and he could be an enormous factor in them winning the whole thing. — Thosar

3. The Carlos Rodón roller-coaster continues

Given the southpaw’s turbulence this postseason, the Yankees had to know there was a fat chance that Rodón would unravel the way he did on Saturday. Aaron Boone and the Yankees’ decision-makers are just as responsible for this poor outing as the left-hander himself is. Rodón took the mound for Game 2 having surrendered seven earned runs in his previous three playoff starts (14.1 innings) this October. He spiraled against the Royals in the ALDS, then course-corrected in his first outing of the ALCS, only to struggle again in the clincher versus Cleveland. 

On Saturday, he surrendered home runs to Edman, Freddie Freeman and Teoscar Hernández by the third inning and was pulled in the fourth.

[RELATED: Full coverage of the World Series] 

The up-and-down nature of Rodón’s postseason spelled trouble the moment New York lost Game 1 to Los Angeles. More than anything, the Yankees needed a reliable starter who would give them the best chance to return to the Bronx with a series split. That made right-hander Clarke Schmidt the superior option for Game 2, not only because he has been more consistent on the road than Rodón, who pitches better at home, but also because the Dodgers hit lefties so well. Why take that chance when the Yankees had to get even? 

Beyond the team’s culpability, Rodón being unable to deliver on the sport’s biggest stage is a huge blow to the Yankees. Nights like Saturday were precisely why they signed him to a six-year, $162 million deal before the 2023 season. That he stayed healthy all year, ate up innings and delivered quality starts in half of his 32 outings when ace Gerrit Cole missed the first two-plus months of the season with an elbow injury was invaluable. His instability since then made him a questionable choice to start Saturday in the first place, and it now has the Yankees in a potentially insurmountable 0-2 hole. — Thosar

4. A potentially costly loss in victory

A commanding 2-0 lead in the series did not come without a potentially significant cost, as an already injury-ravaged Dodgers roster might have taken its biggest hit.

Manager Dave Roberts said Ohtani suffered a subluxation of his left shoulder when he was caught stealing in the seventh inning. Roberts was encouraged by the initial strength and range of motion tests and said he’s “expecting him to be in the lineup,” but he won’t know more until scans are completed.

“Obviously when you get any one of your players that goes down, it’s concerning,” Roberts said. “But after kind of the range of motion, the strength test, I feel much better about it.”

Dodgers players after the game did not seem to know the severity of the injury. Ohtani left the stadium immediately after the game and was not available to provide an update. Based on initial testing, though, Roberts believes Ohtani will be available to play as the series moves to New York.

“I’m expecting him to be there,” Roberts said.

Ohtani had been caught stealing just four times while recording 59 stolen bases during the regular season, but he has been caught stealing on both of his attempts this postseason. — Rowan Kavner

Deesha Thosar is an MLB reporter for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Deesha grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.

Rowan Kavner is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. He previously covered the L.A. Dodgers, LA Clippers and Dallas Cowboys. An LSU grad, Rowan was born in California, grew up in Texas, then moved back to the West Coast in 2014. Follow him on Twitter at @RowanKavner.

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