Blue Jays-Dodgers World Series Game Two: Nobody Up In The Dodgers' Bullpen

[Mike LeSage]

It was a classic pitchers' duel. Two aces at the top of their game with a mastery of their pitching arsenal, doing what they do best, for as long as they could. The game situation stopped at one, and the other by its conclusion. Let's take a closer look at the two aces.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto: 9 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 9 K,105 pitches 
I’m starting in a way I haven’t yet in these playoffs: highlighting an opposing player. That’s how dominant Yamamoto’s performance felt. The curveballs, in particular, were a force to be reckoned with. They were buckling players' knees, but still landing in the zone. Mixed with a well-located high-90s fastball and an effective splitter, he had the Jays bats in knots. As the game went on, the Jays looked less and less comfortable, and Yamamoto looked stronger and stronger. Toronto bats started the game with a double from George Springer and a single from Nathan Lukes to put runners on the corners with none out. For a moment, it looked like the Jays might have tapped into their Game 1 performance and found a way to keep the line moving. The inning would end without scoring a run.

Ernie Clement would lead off the second inning with a ball that was (at the time of this writing) ruled a single, but really should go down as an error on Freddie Freeman. The next three batters would be retired in order, leaving Clement stranded at first. Springer went first to third on a Vladimir Guerrero Jr. single (Springer had reached base with a HBP) and would score on an Alejandro Kirk sacrifice fly. The Jays would end the third inning having scored their first run of the game - it would also be their last. From there, Yamamoto would retire 20 consecutive batters without giving up a hit, earn the win, and have all Jays fans hoping that Toronto wins the series in five games, so that they won’t have to face him again. He had 17 whiffs on 105 pitches, but it honestly felt like more. Now that Toronto has seen him once, a repeat performance would be more difficult, but I hope it doesn’t come to that.

Kevin Gausman: 6.2 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, 82 pitches
Gausman, for his part, was equal to the task for a long stretch. After pitching in relief in Game 7 of the ALCS, Gausman let John Schneider know that he wasn't at 100% to be the Game 1 starter, and as a result, that honour went to Trey Yesavage. Gausman got an extra day of rest and looked like he put it to great use. A Freddie Freeman double, followed by a Will Smith single to score Freeman in the first inning, was the only time the Dodgers got anything going early on. Gausman would end the first inning by striking out Teoscar Hernández and then go on to retire the next 16 batters he would face, taking him into the seventh inning (the longest start of his postseason career). Sarah Langs noted that it was the first time in postseason history that both starters would retire 17+ consecutive batters. Then it was Will Smith at the plate again. With a full count, he would crush a no-doubt home run (-21.3% WPA) to deep left field and give the Dodgers their second lead of the game. Two batters later, it was a Max Muncy solo shot (-14% WPA) that would chase Gausman from the game. Muncy’s homer was more of a doubter - it would have only been an HR in 13/30 parks (it would have been a flyout at Dodger Stadium) and was hit shorter than four other balls that were recorded as flyouts in this game. 

Toronto would then turn to their pen, and while there were some concerning moments from the recently dependable Louis Varland, Jeff Hoffman, and Braydon Fisher, the fact that the Jays couldn’t muster even a hint of a comeback made them retroactively meaningless.

Now the series shifts to Los Angeles, and the power of Addison Barger’s couch sleeping seems to have worn off. Max Scherzer will get the start against Tyler Glasnow on Monday. Hopefully, the Jays can do to Glasnow what they did to his Tampa Bay alumnus, Blake Snell, in Game 1. After the dominating performance put on by Yamamoto, the importance of Operation: Get to the Bullpen has never been more apparent.

Lastly, I would love to blame this loss on the Jonas Brothers in some fashion. Their ‘halftime’ show in the 5th inning was weird and out of place (the Stand Up to Cancer moment that preceded their performance was nice, but equally oddly timed), but again, the story of this loss starts and stops with Yoshinobu Yamamoto. 

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