Yoshinobu Yamamoto started Game 2 of the National League Championship Series by giving up a home run on his first pitch. After that, he was nearly perfect.
The Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander threw a complete game three-hitter on Tuesday night, leading his team to a 5-1 win over the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field. The Dodgers now hold a 2-0 lead in the NLCS and are two wins away from returning to the World Series.
Los Angeles came into this series looking to change the story. The Brewers swept all six regular-season games against them, but October baseball has been a different story. The Dodgers have flipped the momentum and history is now on their side. Teams that take a 2-0 lead in a best-of-seven postseason series win nearly 84 percent of the time, according to Baseball Reference.
Tyler Glasnow will start Game 3 when the series moves to Dodger Stadium on Thursday. He has not allowed a run in 7.2 innings this postseason. Shohei Ohtani is expected to pitch Game 4 after a solid outing in the Division Series against the Phillies.
Yamamoto Silences Milwaukee After Early Home Run
When Jackson Chourio sent Yamamoto’s first pitch of the night over the right-field wall, it looked like the Brewers were ready to take control. Instead, Yamamoto shut the door. He retired 14 straight hitters and gave up only three hits the entire game. His mix of fastballs and breaking pitches left Milwaukee’s lineup guessing all night.
The Dodgers’ offense backed him up quickly. In the second inning, Teoscar Hernández tied the game with a solo home run, his fourth of the postseason. Andy Pages followed with a double that brought in Kiké Hernández to give Los Angeles the lead. Max Muncy added a solo shot in the sixth inning, and Ohtani broke out of a slump with an RBI single in the seventh.
Milwaukee starter Freddy Peralta allowed three runs on five hits across five and two-thirds innings. The Brewers couldn’t find an answer to Yamamoto, who showed why Los Angeles signed him as one of the biggest pitching acquisitions of the year.
The Dodgers have now won seven of their first eight postseason games and look every bit like the favorite to win another National League title. Game 3 in Los Angeles could put them just one win away from the World Series.
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