Yamamoto's masterpiece puts Dodgers on brink of the pennant

MILWAUKEE — The first pitch Yoshinobu Yamamoto ever threw in the NLCS ended up in the seats. The last one punched the Dodgers’ ticket to the doorstep of the World Series.

What happened in between was nothing short of historic.

Yamamoto, the Dodgers’ $325 million ace, delivered a performance that not only silenced the Milwaukee Brewers but etched his name into postseason lore. After Jackson Chourio greeted him with a leadoff home run on the very first pitch of the night, Yamamoto responded with relentless precision, including retiring the final 14 in a row, to notch the first Dodgers postseason complete game in 21 years.

That’s not a typo. Not since José Lima's magical shutout in Game 3 of the 2004 NLDS has a Dodger gone the distance in October. Yamamoto did it Tuesday night in front of a stunned crowd at American Family Field, tossing a 3-hit, 7-strikeout gem in a 5-1 win that gave Los Angeles a commanding 2-0 lead in the NLCS.

And just like that, the Dodgers are two wins away from the World Series. Yamamoto’s postseason legacy was already budding, but tonight it bloomed.

Even after surrendering the early blow to Chourio, the 27-year-old right-hander didn’t blink. Instead, he settled in, mixed his splitter and fastball beautifully, and carved through a Brewers lineup that, like their fans, had little to cheer about after the first inning. Through four innings, Yamamoto had thrown just 47 pitches. By the time he walked off the mound with a fist pump after the ninth, he had thrown 111, walked only one, and delivered a masterpiece that felt both clinical and dominant.

It was the first postseason complete game across MLB since Justin Verlander in the 2017 ALCS.  And it capped back-to-back eight-inning starts from Dodgers pitchers (Blake Snell in Game 1), something LA hadn't accomplished in the postseason since 2020.

Now they’ve done it on consecutive nights — on the road, no less. While Yamamoto turned the mound into a canvas, the Dodgers’ lineup gave him just enough support — and then some.

After Chourio’s early blast, it was Teoscar Hernández who tied it up in the second, launching a towering solo shot to left off Brewers starter Freddy Peralta. It was Hernández’s 4th homer and 10th RBI of the postseason — a strong answer to his base running miscue in Game 1.

Then came Andy Pages, previously mired in a 1-for-27 slump, who came through with a clutch two-out RBI double to give LA a 2-1 lead — a breakthrough both for him and for the bottom of the order. That was enough for Yamamoto, but the Dodgers weren’t done.

Max Muncy, now the franchise's all-time postseason home run leader (14), extended the lead with a solo shot in the sixth. Kiké Hernández, the ever-clutch October hero, doubled to start the seventh and scored on a much-needed RBI single from Shohei Ohtani, who broke out of his 1-for-23 slump. And Tommy Edman added one more for insurance, notching his 12th career NLCS RBI with a single to cap the scoring at 5-1. The Dodgers’ offense didn’t explode. It didn’t need to. It was timely, efficient, and did just enough to complement the pitching brilliance.

While the Dodgers rode a single arm for nine innings, the Brewers continued their bullpen-heavy approach, using six pitchers for the second night in a row. Peralta fought hard — even pleaded for one more inning, per the broadcast — but the Dodgers’ patient, punishing approach wore Milwaukee down.

The Brewers haven’t named a Game 3 starter yet. They may not have many bullets left. The Dodgers, meanwhile, are in complete control. They’ve outscored the Brewers 7-2 through two games, have gotten 17 innings of 1-run baseball from their two frontline starters, and now return home to Chavez Ravine with the series in a chokehold.

Tyler Glasnow takes the ball on Thursday in Game 3 at Dodger Stadium. The Brewers, trailing 0-2 and likely facing elimination this weekend, are still scrambling for answers.

After a shaky and injury-riddled summer, the Dodgers are peaking at the perfect time. They’ve now won five of their last six in October, and more importantly, their stars are showing up — and so are their newcomers. The Dodgers are 4-0 on the road this postseason. Yamamoto was signed to be a difference-maker in games like this. On Tuesday night, in the heart of enemy territory, he didn’t just make a difference — he made history.

And now, the Dodgers are two wins from a return trip to the Fall Classic.