The Los Angeles Dodgers levelled the World Series at one apiece with a 5-1 victory against the Toronto Blue Jays in game two on Sunday Australian time.
The reigning champion Dodgers struck back after dropping the series opener through a dominant display from pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto as well as seventh-inning home runs by Will Smith and Max Muncy that created a comfortable buffer.
Yamamoto, who pitched the first postseason complete game in eight years in game two of the Dodgers’ National League Championship Series triumph over Milwaukee, again went the distance in scintillating style as the Dodgers bounced back from an 11-4 game one thrashing.
Watch every game of the 2025 MLB World Series LIVE with ESPN on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.
The Japanese star threw 105 pitches for the night for four hits, eight strikeouts and no walks.
He retired the last 20 batters he pitched to, and he became the first pitcher in a decade in a World Series to threw a complete game.
It is also the first time since Curt Schilling in 2001, who did it three times in a row, that a pitcher has thrown two consecutive complete games within the same postseason.
“I racked up a pitch count early on. I took it one inning by one inning,” Yamamoto said post-game.
“I wanted to relax, but it’s the World Series.”
Game three of Major League Baseball’s best-of-seven championship series is on Tuesday in Los Angeles, where the Dodgers will also host games four and five.
