Many factors led the LA Dodgers to defeat the Toronto Blue Jays in the World Series in seven games. One of those was the performance of their star right-hander Yoshinobou Yamamoto.
Altogether, Yamamoto pitched 2.2 scoreless innings in relief and gave up one hit, one walk, and struck out one hitter. He came in the bottom of the 9th inning with Game 7 tied and hanging in the balance.
Ultimately, Yamamoto's heroics combined with his overall stats earned him the honor of being named World Series MVP.
As a result, two of his Dodgers teammates, Mookie Betts and Blake Snell, heaped praise on Yamamoto, per On Base with Mookie Betts on Bleacher Report/Hyeseong Kim Muse 김혜성.
“What Yoshi did was unbelievable,” Betts said. “He went on zero days rest.”
“It’s not even that he went on zero days rest,” Snell said. “He was on zero days rest, and looked the same as if he had six days rest. I’m like, how do you do that?”
Yamamoto blew his teammates’ minds🤯
MOOKIE BETTS: “What Yoshi did was unbelievable. He went on zero days rest.”
BLAKE SNELL: “It’s not even that he went on zero days rest. He was on zero days rest, and looked the same as if he had six days rest. I’m like, how do you do that?” pic.twitter.com/jnokdRZAnY
— Hyeseong Kim Muse 김혜성 (@HyeseongKimMuse) November 7, 2025
During the series, Yamamoto finished 3-0 with a 1.92 ERA. Additionally, he had 15 strikeouts and gave up only two earned runs through 17.2 innings pitched.
In Game 2, Yamamoto pitched a complete game in a 5-1 Dodgers victory.
Yamamoto's place in Dodgers and World Series history
This series solidified Yamamoto's status as one of the elite pitchers of his time. He became the first pitcher since Randy Johnson in 2001 to win three World Series games.
Before that, he was the first pitcher to pitch back-to-back complete postseason games since 2001. Also, he is the fourth pitcher in history to win Games 6 and 7 of a World Series.
The three others were Johnson, Harry Brecheen, and Ray Kremer. Along the way, Yamamoto received comparisons to previous Dodger greats such as Sandy Koufax and Orel Hershiser. Both of whom were instrumental in carrying Los Angeles to glory from the mound.
