Yoshinobu Yamamoto was question mark for Game 7 before World Series MVP heroics
Yoshinobu Yamamoto was not sure he would be able to pitch for the Los Angeles Dodgers just hours before helping his team to become back-to-back World Series champions
Yoshinobu Yamamoto had no idea whether he would be able to pitch during Game 7 for the Los Angeles Dodgers hours before helping the franchise to back-to-back World Series titles.
Saturday night saw the 2025 MLB season come to a close, with Los Angeles defeating the Toronto Blue Jays in a pulsating World Series finale. Having trailed for the majority of Game 7 at Rogers Centre, the Dodgers mounted an impressive comeback on the road to win 5-4 against the Blue Jays, becoming the first team in over two decades to win consecutive titles.
During Game 6, just a day prior, Yamamoto threw 96 pitches, with it unclear if he would be able to go during Game 7 with everything on the line. While Shohei Ohtani started on the mound for the Dodgers, it was Yamamoto who helped Los Angeles seal the deal.
Lasting 2.2 innings after coming in during the ninth inning, the Dodgers star allowed just one hit, walked one, and got the Game 7-ending double play. So clutch was Yamamoto throughout the series for Los Angeles, he was named the World Series MVP.
However, with Game 6 having weighed heavily upon his arm, there was no guarantee the 27-year-old would be able to go for the Dodgers on Saturday night.
Speaking to FOX Sports' Kevin Burkhardt following the game, via a translator, Yamamoto admitted it was not until he went into the bullpen before Game 7 that he knew he could pitch for Los Angeles.
"I was not sure if I could pitch tonight until I went to the bullpen tonight, but I'm glad I was able to," Yamamoto told Burkhardt. "I did everything I was supposed to do, and I'm so happy that I was able to win this with this team."
The World Series MVP also admitted to reporters that with his teammates also "playing right on the edge", he knew he had to do what he could to help Los Angeles make history.
Asked about how he handled the pressure of playing against Toronto — with Los Angeles staring down elimination in both Game 6 and Game 7 on the road — Yamamoto said: "I think that, first off, I pitched two days in a row.
"However, all the players, they were playing right on the edge because of their condition. So as a result, we were able to close this series by our victory and that was great."
He added: "When I started in the bullpen before I went in, to be honest, I was not really sure if I could pitch up there to my best ability. But as I started getting warmed up, because I started making a little bit of an adjustment, and then I started thinking I can go in and do my job."
So impressive was Yamamoto during the World Series, particularly in Game 7 given his workload on Friday night during Game 6, it led Dodgers manager Dave Roberts to describe his pitcher's performance as "unheard of", with the latter hailing the World Series MVP's "unwavering will."
Roberts said: "It's unheard of, and I think that there's a mind component, there's a delivery, which is a flawless delivery, and there's just an unwavering will. I just haven't seen it. I really haven't.
"You know, all that combined. And there's certain players that want moments and there's certain players that want it for the right reasons, but Yoshi is a guy that I just completely implicitly trust and he's made me a pretty dang good manager."