The Dodgers keep handing Yoshinobu Yamamoto the ball in spots that would make most pitchers blink. And every time, he seems to get better at it.
That’s the setup again Monday night, when Los Angeles sends Yamamoto out for NLCS Game 2 after dropping the opener to the Brewers. It’s the same kind of trust the Dodgers showed last week in Atlanta, when the series was tied 1-1 and they were staring down Braves ace lefty Chris Sale in Game 3.
The Dodgers had been in that place before. The difference, as always, was who was taking the mound for them.
Yamamoto answered in that Game 3 start with 10 strikeouts across seven innings, allowing just one run. Dodgers Game 1 starter Tarik Skubal said, via The Athletic: "It's probably not fair to say that I expect that out of him because that's a really great performance," Dodger Game 1 starter Tarik Skubal said, via The Athletic. "But it's not surprising at all.
"I personally wanted him going Game 1 just because he's the guy, and I have a lot of respect for everything he's done here, especially in the postseason."
That kind of reaction has become familiar. In a postseason where starters often get yanked early, Yamamoto keeps stretching games deep into the late innings.
He threw back-to-back complete games last postseason, first in Game 2 of the NLCS against the Brewers and then in Game 2 of the World Series. He went six innings in Game 6 of the World Series to help force a Game 7, then returned in Game 7 and finished the job with 2 ⅔ innings in relief, earning the win in extra innings.
The results now speak for themselves. The Dodgers won his postseason debut last week and then closed out the Braves the next day.
Yamamoto is 8-1 in 11 playoff appearances, and Los Angeles has won 10 of those 11 games. His first playoff start was a rough one - five earned runs in three innings in Game 1 of the 2024 NLDS - but since then, he has posted a 1.50 ERA in 60 postseason innings.
The overall October line is getting harder to ignore: a career 2.14 playoff ERA, 0.83 WHIP and 58 strikeouts in 63 innings. He was named World Series MVP in 2025 after going 3-0 with a 1.02 ERA and 0.68 WHIP in 17 ⅔ innings in the Fall Classic.
That came after he allowed just one run in a complete game in his only NLCS outing. Over his last five postseason games, he is 5-0 with a 1.07 ERA, 32 strikeouts and only four walks in 33 ⅔ innings.
Miguel Rojas summed up the mood after NLDS Game 3, telling MLB.com: "He's becoming one of the best pitchers in this stage," Dodgers infielder Miguel Rojas told MLB.com after NLDS Game 3. "Obviously he hasn't won a Cy Young here or hasn't been the best pitcher in the league, but we feel like every time he takes the mound, he's the best pitcher for us. … And I know he will do whatever to help us out."
That’s why Yamamoto has already forced his way into any real discussion about the best postseason pitchers ever. Among starting pitchers with at least 60 postseason innings in the post-integration era, only Bob Gibson, Fernando Valenzuela and Madison Bumgarner sit ahead of him on ERA, with Yamamoto right behind them at 2.14. Sandy Koufax’s 0.95 postseason ERA still stands as the standard, but he fell short of the 60-inning cutoff at 57 innings.
And this doesn’t feel finished yet. Yamamoto is lined up to start Game 2 of the NLCS, and he could take another turn if the series goes long.
The World Series would be waiting after that. He’s 27 years old, signed through 2035, and pitching for a Dodgers team that shows up in October every single year.
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