Yoshinobu Yamamoto Dominates as Dodgers Take 2-0 NLCS Lead with Classic Pitching Display

MILWAUKEE (AP) — The Los Angeles Dodgers are leaning on a time-tested approach to get back to the World Series, and it’s paying off in a big way. With starters pitching deep into games, the defending champions are two wins away from returning to the Fall Classic, despite a shaky bullpen.

Tuesday night, Yoshinobu Yamamoto delivered a masterful three-hit complete game, the Dodgers’ first postseason complete game in eight years, as Los Angeles defeated the Milwaukee Brewers 5-1 in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series. The performance came just a day after Blake Snell pitched eight shutout innings in a 2-1 Game 1 win, giving the Dodgers consecutive dominant starting pitching outings.

“We said before this postseason started that our starting pitching would carry us,” said Max Muncy, who set a Dodgers record with his 14th career postseason home run. “So far, it’s exactly that.”

The contrast with last year’s postseason is stark. In 2024, Dodgers starters went six innings in only two of 16 playoff games. This year, they have seven quality starts in eight games, with a combined 1.54 ERA. That level of dominance allows the team to absorb bullpen inconsistency and even a 2-for-25 slump at the plate from Shohei Ohtani.

After giving up a leadoff home run to Jackson Chourio, Yamamoto settled in, retiring his final 14 batters and finishing with seven strikeouts and one walk over 111 pitches (81 strikes). “I reset my mind after the homer and focused on executing my pitches,” Yamamoto said through an interpreter.

The Dodgers’ offense responded quickly. Teoscar Hernández homered to tie the game, and Muncy’s sixth-inning two-out shot off Freddy Peralta extended the lead to 3-1. Later, Ohtani and Tommy Edman added RBI singles, putting the game out of reach.

This marks the first time since 1970 that both LCS road teams started 2-0, with historical trends heavily favoring series wins for such teams. Los Angeles’ starters are proving why, with the team achieving consecutive starts of at least eight innings for the first time in a series since Madison Bumgarner and Tim Lincecum did it in the 2010 World Series.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts praised his team: “Our entire team is playing the best baseball we’ve played all year. The focus, the concentratio

With Game 3 shifting back to Los Angeles, the Dodge