Dodgers take 2-0 World Series lead behind Yamamoto's Game 2 gem

LOS ANGELES – For the second straight year in the World Series, the World Series saw a bases-loaded, last-strike situation for the trailing team. There were no late-inning heroics this time.

Los Angeles Dodgers reliever Alex Vesia caused New York Yankees pinch-hitter Jose Trevino to fly to center field to secure a 4-2 win Saturday night, the second in a row for the Dodgers, who are in the Leading the best of match 2-0. seven series with Game 3 on Monday in New York.

Not unlike Nestor Cortes, the Yankees reliever who hit a walk-off grand slam to Freddie Freeman in Game 1, Vesia was coming off an injury that forced him to miss the NLCS. But he shook off the rust with an inning of work Friday and was then called upon to relieve righty Blake Treinen, who loaded the bases with two singles and a hit-by-pitch.

Like Freeman, Trevino went for the first pitch and came just under a ball that landed 345 feet away and into the glove of center fielder Tommy Edman.

The 52,725 spectators at Dodger Stadium collectively breathed a sigh of relief – as did the man on the mound.

“It all happened pretty quickly,” Vesia said afterwards. “With the bases loaded and two outs for me, it's to the hitter's advantage to start 1-0, so I wanted to play to my strengths and try to make a pitch.”

The four-seam fastball in the infield served its purpose and capped a night of great pitching for the normally offense-oriented Dodgers, who may have lost star reliever Shohei Ohtani to a shoulder injury.

Entering the game, the Dodgers had scored at least six runs in six of their last seven postseason games and appeared to be on pace to go seven of eight after Edman, Teoscar Hernandez and Freeman hit home runs in the second and third innings or But the Dodgers wouldn't score again. That wouldn't be necessary thanks to starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who was spectacular and had his best game since beating the Yankees in early June.

“This was an incredible start for Yamamoto,” said Treinen. “It will definitely be one of the best starts this postseason.”

Yamamoto went 6⅓ innings and allowed just one hit – a solo home run against Juan Soto – while issuing two walks and four strikeouts, including Aaron Judge twice. His five-pitch mix was better than it has been in a long time, considering the right-hander was recovering from an arm injury in August and September. Some of his outings, even in the postseason, were more like spring performances. He went three innings in Game 1 of the NLDS, then five in Game 5 of that series, and then again just 4⅓ innings in Game 4 of the NLCS. He hadn't thrown more than 73 pitches since the end of September. That changed in the second game of the World Series, when he threw 86 throws without stress and with a lot of movement.

“When I left the IL, I was already so good — pretty close to where I was before,” Yamamoto said through a team interpreter. “After that, when I started pitching in a game, I think I got better.”

The Yankees were off balance all night. Yamamoto threw 42 fastballs, 21 curves, 11 splitters, eight sliders and four cutters. 54 of his 86 strikes resulted in strikes.

“He’s really good,” Yankees first baseman Anthony Rizzo said. “He’s electrifying. His split seems to go in three different directions.

Manager Aaron Boone added: “It was hard to be patient with him when he was in attack and coming forward.”

Yamamoto was a big offseason addition for the Dodgers, signing a 12-year, $325 million contract, but the early-season rookie of the year favorite took some time to find his rhythm. His ERA would eventually fall below 3.00 in June, shortly after he shut out the Yankees over seven innings and just before he was placed on the injured list with a rotator cuff problem. When he returned in September, the Dodgers took things slow. You benefit from it now.

“There wasn’t a lot of stress in the game,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “Yeah, he hasn’t been in the seventh inning since that Yankee game (in June). I felt like we had a good foundation.”

Yamamoto came off the mound to a standing ovation in Game 7 and is now prepared to pitch Game 6 on an extra day of rest if necessary. The performance came amid a cloud of uncertainty for the Dodgers regarding their best player. Ohtani will undergo an MRI on Sunday to determine the severity of his shoulder injury – although the Dodgers are confident they can win even if he has to miss time.

“Oh yeah, a thousand percent,” Teoscar Hernandez said. “We struggled with a lot of injuries throughout the year. First it was the starting pitcher, then Mookie and then Freddie. And hopefully that’s not the case with Ohtani.”

Given Jack Flaherty's performance in Game 1 and Yamamoto's performance in Game 2, Hernandez might be right about his team's chances if Ohtani can't play. They may lose a little on offense, but suddenly the Dodgers have more starting pitches than anyone thought. For most of the postseason, their storyline on the mound revolved around their bullpen. That could change at the most important time of the playoffs.

“The last two nights everyone was saying we might not have the starting lineup to play in the World Series, (but) what Jack did yesterday and what Yamamoto did in his first World Series game, that's really impressive,” Treinen said .