World Series 2025: Yoshinobu Yamamoto caps unforgettable postseason with scoreless finish to Dodgers' Game 7 victory: 'I have no idea how he pulled it off'

TORONTO — Going into Game 7 of the 2025 World Series, Yoshinobu Yamamoto had already done his part and then some.

He pitched one of the greatest games in World Series history, tossing a complete game in Game 2. Less than 48 hours later, he was warming up to enter L.A.’s 18-inning marathon victory in Game 3 before Freddie Freeman’s walk-off homer. And in Game 6, it was Yamamoto who helped save the Dodgers’ season, tossing six innings of one-run ball to get L.A. to Game 7.

So in the series finale for the Dodgers, it was going to be all hands on deck — all hands, that is, except Yamamoto. After Game 6, some wondered if the team’s ace might throw on no rest, but the Dodgers’ manager was definitive.

“Everyone will be available. … Not Yamamoto,” Roberts quipped.

But if there’s one thing we know about Game 7 of the World Series, it’s to expect the unexpected. That, and a winner-take-all game can turn a postseason hero into a World Series legend.

And after tossing 2 2/3 innings to lead the Dodgers to a 5-4 Game 7 victory to become the first back-to-back World Series champions in 25 years, that’s exactly what Yamamoto has become.

“Yoshi is the f***ing man. I can’t believe he just did that. Holy s***,” one Dodger marveled in the postgame celebration.

On the morning of Game 7, no one in the Dodgers’ organization knew if Yamamoto was going to be able to pitch. But when the 27-year-old woke up and his right arm, having thrown 96 pitches the night before, felt well enough to throw, things began to be put in motion.

Backchannel conversations between Yamamoto and his trusted circle got back to the Dodgers about his availability, and word began to spread throughout the organization, with front-office members and coaches wondering if another appearance from Yamamoto would be possible. But as late as two-and-a-half hours before first pitch, it was still unknown. That’s when he threw on flat ground and, in addition to feeling well enough, the ball came out looking good. With that, the Dodgers’ coaching staff’s confidence began to grow.

“I was surprised in [Game 3], but I wasn’t surprised in this one,” pitching coach Mark Prior said of Yamamoto’s willingness to pitch on no rest. “He was willing to do anything to help win, for this organization and for his teammates.”

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Even so, the right-hander wasn’t going to pitch unless the right situation called for him. But when Game 7 starter Shohei Ohtani didn’t look like his usual self, battling shaky command and giving up a three-run blast to Bo Bichette, it became clear early that the Dodgers would have to go off-script with their pitching plan. After Ohtani, Roberts turned to Tyler Glasnow, Justin Wrobleski and Emmet Sheehan. Those three kept the game close through seven, allowing the Dodgers to begin clawing back after trailing 3-0 early.

In the middle of the fifth, Blake Snell and Yamamoto made the walk from the dugout to the Dodgers’ bullpen. Prior to that, the Dodgers’ coaching staff knew Yamamoto could potentially enter the game late, but the players weren’t aware until they saw him walk to the pen.

“Yoshi is an alien,” one Dodger remarked afterward.

Snell pitched a scoreless eighth, setting up the Dodgers to tie the game in the ninth on Miguel Rojas’ improbable solo homer off Blue Jays closer Jeff Hoffman. But as the bottom of the ninth began, Snell quickly got into some trouble, with a single by Bichette and a walk to Addison Barger putting the World-Series-winning runs on base.

At that point, the Dodgers’ manager knew whom he needed to call: the same man he entrusted to save his team’s season 24 hours prior.

From then on, the game was Yamamoto’s.

“When I started in the bullpen before I went in, to be honest, I was not really sure if I could pitch up to my best ability,” Yamamoto said postgame. “But as I started getting warmed up, I started making a little bit of an adjustment, and then I started thinking, I can go in and do my job.”

As Roberts took the ball from Snell to bring in L.A.’s best starting pitcher this entire season, everyone watching slowly realized what they were about to witness.

“When he was jogging in, I looked at Doc, and I said, ‘Gosh, he is a dog,’” first baseman Freddie Freeman said. “I can’t believe he is coming into this game.”

Initially, it wasn’t shaping up to be a storybook ending for Yamamoto, who drilled Alejandro Kirk on his second pitch to load the bases. From there, Yamamoto had to bear down, delivering a splitter to get Daulton Varsho to ground into a close force out at the plate. The next batter, Ernie Clement, gave the Dodgers a scare, sending a deep drive to the warning track, but defensive replacement Andy Pages made a game-saving catch to keep the game tied.

The 10th was a bit easier for Yamamoto. He delivered a 1-2-3 frame — the only Jays inning of the night without a baserunner — giving his offense the chance to get right back up and try to push a run across. If there were any concerns about his stuff, he silenced them, with his fastball touching 97 mph and his splitter falling off the table.”

“I wanted to give Yamamoto an opportunity to keep the game at bay,” Roberts said of his expectation for the ninth. “Once he did that, he felt confident that he could stay in his delivery, and it wasn’t going to compromise health.

“And then at that point in time, even for that third up, he said, ‘daijoubu.’ It means, ‘I’m OK.’ And so for me, I just trusted him, and he came up big.”

But how would the story end? Yamamoto’s feat was absolutely something to marvel at, and just the fact that he was both willing and capable in Game 7 of the World Series was remarkable. But it wouldn’t matter if the Dodgers didn’t score.

The answer came in the top of the 11th, when Yamamoto’s catcher, Will Smith, gave his battery mate something to pitch for with a towering solo home run that handed the Dodgers a 5-4 lead — their first of the game, setting the stage for Yamamoto to be the Dodgers’ hero once again. But the Jays weren’t going down without a fight. A leadoff double from Vladimir Guerrero Jr. followed by a perfectly executed sacrifice bunt by Isiah Kiner-Falefa and a walk to Barger mounted another Toronto threat, with the tying run 90 feet away and a tough opponent in Kirk at the plate.

All postseason, when the Dodgers’ ace needed to get out of trouble, he managed to throw the perfect pitch at the perfect time. And this time, with the game on his fingertips and a World Series hanging in the balance, Yamamoto made his best pitch of the night.

He threw a perfectly located splitter that got Kirk to break his bat and induced a ground ball to shortstop, leading Mookie Betts right to second base. Betts fielded the ball, stepped on second and fired to first, completing the Dodgers comeback and making Yamamoto the winner in this series for the third time, a World Series champion for the second time and the 2025 World Series MVP.

“I did everything I could do,” he said after accepting his MVP trophy. “I’m so happy I could win this with this [team].”

“I have no idea how he pulled it off,” Ohtani said after the game. “I really believe he is the No. 1 pitcher in the whole world.”

Yamamoto finished an all-time classic World Series as the winner of Games 2, 6 and 7. Across 17 ⅔ innings, he allowed just two earned runs with two walks and 15 strikeouts. He is the 14th pitcher to notch three wins in a single World Series and the first since Randy Johnson in 2001. He’s also the first pitcher to record three road wins in a Fall Classic.

And in Game 7, Yamamoto’s 2 2/3 innings marked the longest outing from any Dodgers pitcher.

“I’ve done some short-rest stuff. I’ve pitched on one day’s rest. I’ve never done no days’ rest,” Clayton Kershaw said postgame. “His arm probably doesn’t feel great right now. He is amazing. He really is. His stuff was incredible tonight. I don’t know what he’s doing — actually, I do know. I see it every day. Maybe 18 years ago, I might have started doing that, too.”

“That stuff that he was doing in Japan wasn’t luck,” Betts told Yahoo Sports. “He’s comfortable, he’s confident, and we’re comfortable and confident behind him. We want him with the ball all the time.”

Nearly two hours after Yamamoto capped his incredible postseason run, his teammates continued to marvel at what he had accomplished. After mobbing him on the field once they became back-to-back champs, they filed into the clubhouse, and everyone stopped to give him love.

“I don’t know if there’s any explaining that,” third baseman Max Muncy said. “I mean, the guy threw 100 pitches or whatever it was in Game 2. And then he was going to go out there and throw Game 3 in the 18-inning game. He throws last night … And then he comes back tonight and throws [36] pitches?”

When Yamamoto signed with the Dodgers on a 12-year, $325 million deal two winters ago, making him the highest paid player ever who hadn’t yet appeared in the major leagues, some wondered if the contract would be worth it.

But after Yamamoto helped L.A. capture a World Series title last year, he put his stamp on their run to repeat as champions in 2025, leaving a postseason legacy that won’t soon be forgotten.

“I don’t think you’ll ever see what you saw Yoshi do tonight,” Kershaw said. “That was probably the most gutsy, ballsy thing any guy has ever done. He’s used to pitching on a week’s rest the whole season. For him to come in and say he’s willing to do that and throw not just one inning but [2 ⅔]? You can’t even describe that and how he was feeling.

“I’m just really grateful to be a part of that.”

World Series 2025: Yoshinobu Yamamoto caps unforgettable postseason with scoreless finish to Dodgers’ Game 7 victory: ‘I have no idea how he pulled it off’

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