The Dodgers followed their familiar pattern this postseason to perfection, with Yoshinobu Yamamoto providing the excellent start on the mound and the offense doing enough to beat the Brewers 5-1 in Game
2 on Tuesday night in Milwaukee, taking control of the National League Championship Series.
Being up 2-0 in a series is a nice place to be, and the Dodgers have enjoyed that lofty perch in the wild card round (already clinching that best-of-3 affair), in the NLDS (winning that best-of-five in four games), and now in the best-of-7 NLCS before returning home.
Yamamoto in his previous start — in Game 3 of the NLDS against the Phillies — allowed three runs in four-plus innings, which represents the worst and shortest start by any Dodgers starting pitcher this season. He made up for that and then some, solving the Dodgers bullpen problem by simply giving them the night off.
The Brewers never even batted with a runner in scoring position against Yamamoto, who allowed a home run to Jackson Chourio on the first pitch of the game but then needed only 111 pitches to record his 27 outs, and allowed only two more singles and a walk the rest of the way. He retired his final 14 batters faced for the Dodgers first postseason complete game in 21 years.
Yamamoto is the first Dodgers starter to even pitch in the ninth inning of a postseason game since José Lima shut out the Cardinals in Game 4 of the 2004 NLDS.
Coupled with Blake Snell’s gem in Game 1, the Dodgers have consecutive postseason starts of at least eight innings for the first time since Orel Hershiser and Tim Belcher in Games 1–2 of the 1988 NLCS against the Mets. The Dodgers that postseason had five starts lasting at least eight innings — four by Hershiser — which was the last time the team got multiple eight-inning starts in the same postseason before now.
Yamamoto has allowed zero or one earned run in seven of his last eight starts.
Dave Roberts praised the Dodgers for taking good at-bats in Game 1, even if the results didn’t come. It was more of the same in Game 2, as they forced Freddy Peralta to throw 42 pitches to get through the lineup the first time.
Teoscar Hernández hit a solo home run in the second inning, his team-leading fourth this postseason. Later in the frame with two outs, the Dodgers got a single by Kiké Hernández and an RBI double by Andy Pages going the other way to right field to seize the lead. That double snapped a hitless skid of 15 at-bats for Pages.
Peralta settled down after that, working through some traffic to get into the sixth inning and nearly avoided further damage. But with two outs in the sixth inning, Max Muncy worked a count full before slamming a ball to center field, almost in the same spot as the bizarre double play from Game 1. But this one doubled the lead instead, getting over the wall for a solo home run to end Peralta’s night with a third run on the board.
The home run for Muncy was his 14th career postseason home run, breaking a tie with Corey Seager and Justin Turner for most in Dodgers postseason history.
The Dodgers tacked on with RBI singles from Shohei Ohtani in the seventh and Tommy Edman in the eighth, providing breathing room. But Yamamoto didn’t really need it.
NLCS Game 2 particulars
Home runs: Teoscar Hernández (4), Max Muncy (1); Jackson Chourio (2)
WP — Yoshinobu Yamamoto (2-1): 9 IP, 3 hits, 1 run, 7 strikeouts
LP — Freddy Peralta (1-2): 5 2/3 IP, 5 hits, 3 runs, 1 walk, 4 strikeouts
Up next
The NLCS now shifts to Los Angeles, with Game 3 coming on Thursday afternoon at Dodger Stadium (3:08 p.m., TBS). Tyler Glasnow makes the start for the Dodgers (someone tell the TBS booth). The Brewers haven’t yet named a starting pitcher, but left-hander Jose Quintana would be in line to start or pitch bulk relief innings on Thursday.
