They Can't All Be Yoshinobu Yamamoto | Defector

"The Toronto Blue Jays laid down a pretty good template right from the start of their victory Friday night in Game 1 of the World Series. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. worked a first-inning seven-pitch walk, then Alejandro Kirk worked a nine-pitch walk, and even though Dodgers starter Blake Snell escaped the jam without allowing a run the Blue Jays had done some important damage."

"Early in Game 2, proceedings seemed to be taking the same approximate shape. The Blue Jays put men on the corners before Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto recorded his first out, and though Yamamoto pulled a Snell and escaped the jam, he needed 23 pitches to complete the trick. It was easy to imagine the relentless Blue Jays pestering Yamamoto to an untimely demise, and a quaking and sobbing Emmet Sheehan being dragged bodily out of the visitor's bullpen, the Toronto crowd in a maniac frenzy."

"He got out of the fourth inning in what seemed like seconds, and settled into a groove so deep and comfortable that not even a deeply unappreciated mid-game Jonas Brothers performance could pull him out of it. "He was in control the whole time," reflected Los Angeles pitching coach Mark Prior, after the Dodgers' 5-1 win. Perhaps feeling somewhat scrambled by the majesty of Yamamoto's clutch performance, Prior struggled to translate his appreciation into a language more advanced t"

The Blue Jays applied sustained early offensive pressure in Game 1, working long plate appearances and forcing Blake Snell into a taxing 29-pitch first inning. Snell surrendered control in the sixth, Los Angeles relievers allowed a bases-loaded rally and Toronto erupted for a nine-run sixth en route to an 11-4 victory. In Game 2, the Blue Jays again created early jams, but Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto navigated heavy traffic, using 23 pitches to escape the first inning before settling into an efficient groove. Yamamoto's command limited sustained damage and Los Angeles won 5-1.

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