Yoshinobu Yamamoto singles off Blake Snell, Dodge Coast leads 2-0 in NLCS

Things couldn’t have started off worse. Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s first pitch in Game 2 of the NLCS was a 97 mph four-seam fastball to Brewers power first batter Jackson Chourio. Chourio immediately hit the ball into the 389-foot Dodgers bullpen. Its landing was like a signal to rescuers busy on the berm: Stay alert, you may be needed sooner than you think.

They are not necessary. It’s hard to imagine a better pitching performance than Yamamoto’s teammate Blake Snell, who struck out 10 in eight innings the night before. But Yamamoto managed to catch up to him.

In 111 spectacular pitches, Yamamoto took the rudder off the Brewers’ bats, allowing them just one single run in a three-hit game. Making the playoffs for the first time in eight years, it certainly provides a possible solution to the Dodgers’ bullpen woes: What if you don’t need these guys?

Meanwhile, the Dodgers offense chased Freddie Peralta through 5 2/3 innings and allowed three runs, giving Yamamoto all the cushion he needed. In the end, they won 5-1, taking both games in Milwaukee and taking a 2-0 series lead.

The Brewers showed aggression and started swinging early, as evidenced by Jolio’s tank. But to his credit, Yamamoto adjusted beautifully, throwing just two first-pitch four-seamers the rest of the way.

Reducing fastball usage is critical. His splitter and curveball were both more prominent than his four-seamer, which was used only 23% of the time. Aside from seven strikeouts (three of which looked like it), the Brewers mustered just a .234 xBA, driving ball into the ground one after another, unable to adjust to any given velocity or trajectory. Yamamoto shot 73% with all six of his pitches in the zone.

Yamamoto retired the last 14 batters he faced, and the game began to feel like a foregone conclusion when he gained a two-run advantage, making the slim lead look insurmountable as only a senior ace could.

That lead came downstream of the game’s most critical strategic moment: Brewers manager Pat Murphy’s decision to keep Peralta in the sixth inning. Entering the sixth inning, the game was a pitcher’s duel with the Brewers trailing by just one run. After Jolio’s homer, the Dodgers fought back with two runs in the top of the second, Teoscar Hernandez’s solo homer and Andy Page’s double down the right field line.

Peralta never looked particularly sharp. After two innings, he had thrown 45 pitches, struggling to complete foul balls and deep counts. Still, partly due to his hellish stuff and partly due to some nifty plays by his defense, he basically kept the run going. In the fifth, he got out of trouble and induced a grounding double off the bat of Mookie Betts to end the inning. If he had only one out, he would probably have been knocked out of the game. Aaron Ashby warms up in the bullpen and prepares to face left-hander Freddie Freeman. After a double to end the inning, Ashby, a left-hander, was still expected to come on in the top of the sixth inning against Freeman, along with Max Muncy at third in the inning.

After Game 5, Peralta and Murphy chatted for a while in the dugout, according to the broadcast. Peralta told Murphy he had one more inning left. Another game would be beneficial in many ways: The Brewers used six pitchers in the Game 1 loss, including all five of their favorites. A bit of length was badly desired, and Murphy rolled the dice, pitting Peralta against Freeman, Will Smith and Muncy.

It got off to an ideal start; Freeman popped up on the first pitch he saw and Smith hit a grounder to third base. Two quick outs and only one batter retired. Then it started to fall apart. Peralta trailed Monsi 0-3. For a recount, he threw a fastball strip high on the outside edge of the zone. Muncy came on to call for a strike.

The next pitch is also a fastball; the location is nearly identical to the previous pitch. Muncy fouled and the count was full. After hitting a slider, Peralta again delivered a high-outside fastball for the third time in four pitches. Fool me once, shame on you… Fool me twice, shame on you, I guess… But fool me three times, well, that’s a tank. Muncy slammed the heater at 110 mph; the ball sailed just over Sal Frilick’s outstretched glove and over the center field wall to give Los Angeles a 3-1 lead. Muncy’s home run represented the biggest swing in win expectations in the game, giving the Dodgers a 75.5 percent chance of victory.

The Brewers didn’t get on base again after Muncy’s home run. Meanwhile, the Dodgers’ offense drained the blood out of Milwaukee’s bullpen and they added two more runs to close the gap, giving Dodgers manager Dave Roberts the confidence to ride Yamamoto all the way to the finish line.

The first run came in the seventh inning with a double by Enrique Hernández to start the game. The utility continued to impress in October. He went 2-for-3 with a walk in the game, giving him a .972 OPS for the 2025 postseason. After Pages moved him to third on a bunt, Ohtani, who had never been so low for the first time in a Dodger game, snuck a grounder past the infield Andrew Vaughn to score Hernandez and make it 4-1.

The final run came from Tobias Myers, who lives behind the Brewers’ reliever tree of trust. Smith led off the inning with a single; he reached second on a Muncy walk. Teoscar Hernández advanced them both one base; the infield again allowed a ground ball after Tommy Edman came on, and they scrambled with a runner on third.

This would be the end of meaningful offensive action. When the Dodgers struck again in the ninth inning — they finished with 11 hits and four walks — radio reports said Roberts would let Yamamoto start at least one inning while Alex Vicia warmed up in case of trouble. There is no need for Visia.

William Contreras lifted a hanging slider to center field. Christian Yelich knocked the splitter back to Yamamoto. One out; only Vaughan stood in the way of his nine-inning masterpiece. As he had done all day, Yamamoto dropped a curve ball from the sky for the first down. A split breath gave him an 0-2 lead. Vaughn fouled another splitter to stay alive. Not good enough. The right-hander needs to finish the game in style. Here comes another Splinter, this one on Vaughn’s back foot. Clean smell; game over. Yamamoto turned around and clapped a few times, seemingly surprised by his own talent, and said “Wow”.

The series now heads to Los Angeles.