Dodgers’ Yamamoto Clutch in Relief, Seals World Series MVP

Reuters

TORONTO — Yoshinobu Yamamoto stood at the center of Rogers Centre, arms trembling as he lifted the World Series MVP trophy. It was a fitting image for a pitcher who had carried the Los Angeles Dodgers to their second consecutive championship—one pitch, one inning, and one exhausted arm at a time. Just one night after throwing 96 pitches in the Dodgers’ Game 6 victory, Yamamoto returned to the mound in Game 7, this time out of the bullpen. Over 2⅔ scoreless innings, he shut down the Toronto Blue Jays’ powerful lineup, preserving a 5–4 extra-inning win that capped one of the greatest World Series performances in recent memory. “It's pretty crazy,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts admitted. “I'm kind of crazy for sending him back out there. But I just felt he was the best option.”

Hard to argue. In the ninth inning, Yamamoto pitched out of a bases-loaded jam with the score tied at four. He cruised through the tenth, then worked around a Vladimir Guerrero Jr. leadoff double in the eleventh to finish the game. Moments later, catcher Will Smith launched the go-ahead home run, and the Dodgers completed their repeat as World Series champions. “I wasn’t sure I could pitch at my best,” Yamamoto said through an interpreter. “But once I got warm, I made a few adjustments and started to feel confident I could do my job.” At twenty-seven years old, Yamamoto became just the fourth pitcher ever to win Games 6 and 7 of the same World Series, joining Randy Johnson (2001), Harry Brecheen (1946), and Ray Kremer (1925). His Game 7 cap is already bound for Cooperstown, a symbol of a performance that will live in baseball lore.

“Yamamoto is the GOAT!” Roberts shouted as the Dodgers hoisted the World Series trophy.

The Japanese right-hander, signed to a twelve-year, $325 million deal before the 2024 season, justified every penny in his second year. Across three appearances in the 2025 World Series, he went 3–0 with a 1.09 ERA, allowing just ten hits and striking out fifteen in 17⅔ innings. “He’s one of the best arms in the game,” said Toronto’s Addison Barger. “It’s kind of freaky that he pitched again after yesterday. I don’t know how he did it.”

Blue Jays slugger George Springer echoed the sentiment: “He’s elite. There’s no other way to describe it. He controls six or seven types of spin, and that split-finger is unhittable.”

Yamamoto’s Game 2 performance—a four-hit complete game—set the tone early for Los Angeles. It was his second consecutive postseason complete game, following a three-hitter in the National League Championship Series against Milwaukee. No pitcher had gone the distance in a World Series since Johnny Cueto in 2015, and Yamamoto did it twice in one postseason. The Blue Jays, meanwhile, were left to process heartbreak. Two outs away from their first championship since 1993, closer Jeff Hoffman surrendered a game-tying home run to Miguel Rojas in the ninth. “It sucks,” Hoffman said afterward. “Supposed to end differently. Was just one pitch.” Veteran pitcher Max Scherzer, who started Game 7 for Toronto, held back tears as he spoke to reporters. “I’m 41 years old and I never thought I could love baseball this much,” he said. “This team had that camaraderie. That loss is so tough because we were so close.”

Despite Bo Bichette’s early three-run homer and Guerrero’s late double, the Dodgers’ resilience prevailed. After Smith’s homer in the top of the eleventh, Mookie Betts and Miguel Rojas turned a game-ending double play to secure the championship.

When the final out was recorded, Yamamoto collapsed into Smith’s arms near the mound. Cameras captured tears, hugs, and pure exhaustion—a moment that symbolized not just victory, but the willpower it took to achieve it.

“Everyone in here is devastated,” said Toronto pitcher Kevin Gausman. “It took them playing perfect and having a great last couple innings to beat us.”

In the Dodgers’ clubhouse, celebration and disbelief mixed in equal measure. For Yamamoto, the hero of October, there was little left to say.

“He’ll have a few months off,” Smith said with a grin. “He’s earned every bit of it.”