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There is a reason why this website is called Pitcher List. When pitching is done right, it is beautiful, like watching a singer rise to the moment and catching the emotion of a powerful song. What we have witnessed in the first two games of the NL Championship Series has been tremendous. Will this be the theme of the Los Angeles Dodgers‘ postseason or is it just a blip on the radar. Time will tell, but it sure has been pretty to watch.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto is dealing 😮💨#NLCS
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Championship Series Chatter
Yamamoto In Complete Control, Puts Dodgers Up 2-0
Final score: Dodgers 5, Brewers 1
Series: Dodgers lead 2-0
Next game: Brewers TBA vs. Dodgers RHP Tyler Glasnow, Thursday, 6:08 p.m. ET at Dodger Stadium (TBS)
Does it matter if the Los Angeles Dodgers‘ lineup isn’t clicking yet? Not if they are going to continue t get historic starting pitching performances like they have in the first two games of the NL Championship Series. Right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto overcome a leadoff homer to pitch the first postseason complete game since 2017, while Teoscar Hernández and Max Muncy found redemption with home runs as the Dodgers took a 2-0 NLCS lead with a 5-1 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field. The defending champions are halfway toward returning to the World Series by joining the Seattle Mariners in this year’s AL Championship Series to win the first two games on the road. The last time that happened was in 1970, when the LCS were best-of-five.
It was primarily thanks to Yamamoto, the 27-year-old right-hander in his second season in MLB after being a dominant pitcher in Japan who entered the game without a complete game, famously coming within one out of a no-hitter in his previous longest start. Yamamoto allowed one run on three hits with one walk and seven strikeouts in pitching the first postseason complete game since Justin Verlander of the Houston Astros in Game 2 of the ALCS in 2017 and the first for the Dodgers since Jose Lima in Game 3 of the NL Division Series in 2004. His only blemish on the day came on his very first pitch of the game, when Jackson Chourio rocketed a 96.9 mph four-seamer for an opposite-field homer in the Dodgers’ bullpen in right-center field. Yamamoto retired the final 14 hitters he faced and of his 111 pitches, 81 were strikes. It was a spectacular follow-up to left-hander Blake Snell’s performance in Game 1. Snell faced the minimum over eight innings, allowing just one hit, in a 2-1 victory. It was the first time since the 2016 San Francisco Giants that a team got back-to-back starts of eight or more innings in the postseason (Madison Bumgarner and Johnny Cueto).
A different performance this time around in Milwaukee for Yoshinobu Yamamoto 😳
While the top of the Dodgers’ order has yet to get going this postseason, the rest of the lineup did enough against Brewers right-handed starter Freddy Peralta to make sure Yamamoto’s outing paid off. Teoscar Hernández, the culprit of Game 1’s historic 8-6-2 double play, took Peralta deep with one out in the top of the second inning with a towering solo homer to left. Enrique Hernández followed with a single and Andy Pages doubled to right to snap an 0-for-15 skid, giving the Dodgers a 2-1 lead. In the sixth inning, Max Muncy, who hit the ill-fated ball that started the 8-6-2 double play, hit another deep fly ball to center, only this time to the right-field side of dead center. Brewers center fielder Sal Frelick again made a play on the ball, but this time Muncy had a little more on his drive and it cleared the wall for a 3-1 Dodgers lead. That gave Muncy 14 career postseason homers, a Dodgers record. Shohei Ohtani added his second RBI in the last six games when he singled home Enrique Hernandez in the seventh and Tommy Edman tacked on a run-scoring single in the eighth.
Meanwhile, the Brewers’ season is on the ropes thanks to the showings by Snell and Yamamoto. The team that finished with the best record in MLB has five hits in the two games and now must go on the road, where they face Tyler Glasnow in Game 3 and Ohtani in Game 4, and win at least twice at Dodger Stadium to bring the NLCS back to Milwaukee. The Brewers have had four plate appearances with a runner in scoring position and they all came with two outs in the bottom of the ninth of Game 1, getting a Chourio sacrifice fly and two walks before Brice Turang’s game-ending strikeout. Chourio’s homer gave him four in 10 postseason games and tied the club record for most in a career (Prince Fielder and Orlando Arcia).
Shohei Ohtani extends the Dodgers lead! #NLCS
Tommy Edman makes it 5-1 Dodgers! #NLCS
By The Numbers
⚾ Jackson Chourio’s leadoff homer was the fifth this postseason, tying for the most in MLB history with 2007. But with the Brewers’ loss, it was the third time this year that the leadoff blast was in a losing cause, the breaking a tie for the most in postseason history.
⚾ The Dodgers became the second team to not have a complete game during the regular season only to do it in the postseason. The other was the 2016 Toronto Blue Jays, whose complete game came in a loss, thus being of the eight-inning variety.
⚾ Yoshinobu Yamamoto became the fourth pitcher to allow a leadoff homer and get a complete game and the second to not allow any more runs.
Allowed leadoff home run and threw complete game, postseason history:2025 NLCS G2 Yoshinobu Yamamoto1954 WS G2 Johnny Antonelli1942 WS G5 Johnny Beazley 1909 WS G5 Babe AdamsOnly Yamamoto and Antonelli also allowed no other runsh/t @EliasSports
In Another League
Blue Jays Look For Path Back Into Series
Series: Mariners lead 2-0
Next game: Blue Jays RHP Shane Bieber vs. Mariners RHP George Kirby, today, 8:08 pm. ET at T-Mobile Park (FS1)
The formulas are pretty simple entering Game 3 of the AL Championship Series. For the Seattle Mariners, up 2-0 in the best-of-seven series after winning twice on the road, just keep doing what they have been: pitch well and hit homers. For the Toronto Blue Jays, they need someone to step up on both sides. That begins with right-hander Shane Bieber, the 2020 AL Cy Young Award winner who was acquired at the trade deadline while injured. Bieber has pitched well for the Jays since coming over from the Cleveland Guardians, going 4-2 with a 3.57 ERA in seven starts during the regular season. Bieber was knocked around a little in his lone postseason start, giving up three runs on five hits in 2⅔ innings in the Game 3 loss to the New York Yankees in the AL Division Series. He needs to be more of a Kevin Gausman (5⅔IP, 3H, 2R, 1BB, 5K) than a Trey Yesavage (4IP, 4H, 5R, 3BB, 4K).
But it really falls upon the offense to get the Jays going. After being explosive against the Yankees, producing 50 hits and 34 runs (including nine homers), the Jays’ bats have been silenced by the Mariners’ pitching. In these two games, the Jays have produced one run on two hits and three runs on six hits. Their Game 1 run came on a leadoff homer by George Springer. The offense is centered around Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who went 9-for-17 with three homers and nine RBIs in the four games vs. the Yankees. But in the ALCS, the Guerrero is 0-for-7 with a walk.
For the Mariners, if Jorge Polanco continues to produce as he has — not only is he 4-for-9 with five RBIs in this series, he had two homers off Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal and the walk-off hit in the 15-inning clincher — the Mariners will be tough to slow down. Julio Rodríguez also seems to be in a good groove after hitting a three-run homer in the first inning and Cal Raleigh continues to be a major factor following his 60-homer regular season.
⚾ Three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer, left off the Jays’ roster for the AL Division Series, will start Game 4, as has been anticipated. The 41-year-old has made 17 starts this season, going 5-5 with a 5.19 ERA.
Best Moments From Yesterday
Muncy’s Revenge
Max Muncy had the misfortune of hitting into the weird double play in Game 1. In Game 2, he hit another fly ball to center field that Sal Frelick made a play on at the wall, only this time, Muncy hit it just a little bit farther.
Max Muncy was robbed of a homer by Sal Frelick in Game 1.In Game 2 Muncy hit it where Frelick couldn’t catch it 👀
Drawing In The Air
Fans do some crazy things to show their love of their favorite team. We offer this from a Blue Jays fan who is also a pilot.
Here's a recording of the pilot of C-GZPT, a Cirrus SR22, tracing the Jays logo over Nova Scotia
You Complete Me
Yoshinobu Yamamoto emptied the tank and didn’t know what to do with himself after finishing off his complete game.
YOSHINOBU YAMAMOTO FINISHES OFF A COMPLETE GAME ON PITCH NO. 111!#NLCS
Noteworthy News
Bregman Opts Out Of Red Sox Deal
After taking a short-term deal when he didn’t land what he was looking for in a longer agreement, third baseman Alex Bregman exercised his opt-out in his contract with the Boston Red Sox. Bregman signed a three-year, $120 million just before spring training. By opting out, Bregman is leaving two years, $80 million on the table. But he posted a .273/.360/.462 slash line with 18 homers and 62 RBIs in his only season in Boston. While his power was down, his slugging percentage was the highest since he hit 41 homers in 2019, as was his on-base percentage. Bregman will be perhaps the top bat available in free agency regardless of position.
Teoscar Takes The Blame
Considering how epic the play was, the bizarre 8-6-2 double play was still the main attraction before Game 2. At the center of that conversation was Teoscar Hernández, who was the runner on third base whose indecision led to the one-of-its-kind double play. Simply put, Hernandez panicked in the moment when Sal Frelick bobbled the ball.
Teoscar Hernández on not scoring on the wild double play last night: "I f–cked it up."
Shildt: Death Threats Among Departure Reasons
In his first interview since announcing via a letter that he was retiring as manager of the San Diego Padres, Mike Shildt said stress, being ill and death threats from gamblers were contributing factors to his decision. The article did not go into any detail about the death threats, only mentioning them in passing, as well as how his health was impacted during the season by the overall demands of the job.
“But I can tell you I was sick a lot,” Shildt told The Athletic. “I just wasn’t feeling good. I was run down. And I wasn’t sleeping. And it’s nobody’s fault. It’s just day-to-day stress. But, you know, just unhealthy, man, and sometimes you’ve just got to take care of you, you know?”
Shildt, 57, also said that he was not receiving any compensation for resigning with two years left on his contract and he does not plan on seeking a managerial job in the near future. Shildt told the Padres of his decision Saturday. Shildt said he also had no problems with general manager A.J. Preller, as has been widely speculated. Preller confirmed as much in a press conference Tuesday.
Dodgers Going With Glasnow In Game 3, Ohtani Game 4
The Dodgers have set their rotation for the first two games when the NLCS shifts to L.A. for Games 3-5. Right-hander Tyler Glasnow will start Game 3 and two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani in Game 4. Glasnow has made two postseason appearances thus far (one start, one relief), both in the NL Division Series against the Philadelphia Phillies, while Ohtani started once vs. the Phillies. Manager Dave Roberts said Ohtani could be available out of the bullpen for a potential Game 7, which likely would be started by Glasnow.
Qualifying Offer Up To $22.025M
The qualifying offer for certain free agents will be $22.025 million, up from last year’s $21.05 million. The 4.6% bump comes from the average of the top 125 MLB salaries in 2025. Free agents can only be made a qualifying offer if they have been with the organization since Opening Day and have never received a qualifying offer previously. Entering this offseason, 144 players have been given a qualifying offer, with only 14 accepting.
Extra Bases
⚾ The New York Mets are hiring Kai Correa as their next bench coach and promoting Jeff Albert to run the hitting program. Correa replaces John Gibbons, who told the team after the season that he would not be returning to Carlos Mendoza’s staff. Correa has been with the Cleveland Guardians the last two seasons, spending 2025 as the major-league field coordinator as well as director of defense, baserunning and game strategy. Albert has served as the director of hitting development in the Mets’ system for the last three years.
⚾ Backup catcher Austin Hedges has agreed to return to the Cleveland Guardians on a one-year, $4 million contract.
Articles You Should Read
Where Blue Jays must improve to get back into ALCS — Ben Nicholson-Smith, Sportsnet.ca
Mariners in driver’s seat as they seek first trip to World Series — Andrew Destin, Associated Press
The shocking shenaniganery of NLCS Game 1 — Justin Klugh, Baseball Prospectus
Want a Dodgers World Series ticket? They start at $881.95 — face value — Bill Shaikin, Los Angeles Times
Striker Pence turns heads with 101 mph fastball as 16-year-old — Jacob Rudner, Baseball America
Where do they go from here? Division Series losers — Pablo Figueroa, Pitcher List
