The Los Angeles Dodgers made it loud and clear that capturing the Commissioner’s Trophy wouldn’t be a backside stroll for the Toronto Blue Jays. With their newly-minted ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto on the mound, LA shut down Toronto’s powerful lineup and pulled off a 5-1 win in Game 2 of the 2025 World Series.
Yamamoto, pitching his second straight complete game of the postseason, fired 105 pitches, struck out eight, allowed one run on four hits and issued no walks. He retired the last 20 batters he faced, holding the Jays to a .149 batting average and tying the series at 1-1. The 27-year-old Japanese right-hander became only the second Dodgers hurler to throw back-to-back postseason complete games. The first being Orel Hershiser in 1988.
L.A. struck first in the opener, setting the tone. With two outs in the first inning, Freddie Freeman ripped a double down the right-field line, and catcher Will Smith followed with a clutch single to center, putting LA ahead 1-0. On the flip side, the Blue Jays answered back in the bottom of the third. George Springer singled, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. followed with one of his own, and then Alejandro Kirk drove in Springer with a sacrifice fly to even the game at 1-1.
Toronto’s Kevin Gausman stood tall for the next three innings, until the top of the seventh where the Dodgers exploded. Will Smith crushed a 3-2 fastball into the second deck of left-field for his first homer of the postseason to make it 2-1. Two batters later, Max Muncy ripped an opposite-field blast of his own, turning the score to 3-1 and jolting L.A.’s offense awake.
In the eighth, the pressure mounted. The very first throw by Jeff Hoffman after relieving Gausman was a wild pitch, allowing Andy Pages to score and a fielder’s-choice ground-out from Smith drove in another run to seal the deal at 5-1. Toronto’s bats never recovered.
Game 2 may have felt like a pitchers’ duel for six innings, but Yamamoto’s mastery and LA’s power burst in the seventh and eighth shifted the pendulum. Toronto’s offense, hot in Game 1, was silenced most of the night. Meanwhile, the Dodgers, reeling from a Game 1 blowout, found their rhythm when it mattered most.
Momentum now swings west. With the series heading to Los Angeles tied, the Dodgers are riding a wave, while the Blue Jays must find their spark again if they’re going to keep the dream alive.