MILWAUKEE — Much as it had all game, Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s 0-2 splitter appeared it would float over the heart of the plate, before suddenly darting sharply. This one came inside the hands of Andrew Vaughn, carving up the right-hander for a swinging strike three.
Yamamoto turned and paced around the mound, his head down. When he glanced up a few moments later, he could do little to conceal a grin. Yamamoto exhaled, clapped his hand into his glove and said the word most fans were probably thinking after his masterclass of an outing: “Wow.”
The ballgame was over, the Los Angeles Dodgers victorious over the Milwaukee Brewers for the second time behind another sparkling starting pitching performance. One night after Blake Snell fanned 10 over eight shutout innings, Yamamoto upped the ante and twirled the first postseason complete game in eight years. His impressive one-run, three-hit affair powered the Dodgers to a 5-1 victory in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series on Tuesday night. Los Angeles owns a 2-0 lead as the series shifts to Dodger Stadium for Game 3.
Soon after the game, the visiting clubhouse at American Family Field was buzzing with praise.
“What he did tonight, that was just domination,” catcher Will Smith said.
“Incredible. Nobody does that,” second baseman Tommy Edman echoed.
Or as reliever Alex Vesia put it: “That was bad ass.”
Victory formation! #NLCS pic.twitter.com/xi1lmgMq0n
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) October 15, 2025
The majors had not seen a complete game in the playoffs since Justin Verlander did so for the Houston Astros against the New York Yankees in Game 2 of the 2017 American League Championship Series. The Dodgers had not recorded one since José Lima in Game 4 of the 2004 National League Division Series against the St. Louis Cardinals. Yamamoto made just one mistake, and it came on the first pitch. Brewers outfielder Jackson Chourio pummeled Yamamoto’s challenge fastball for a leadoff homer, but the right-hander was undeterred. He maneuvered through the next 27 outs with ease, striking out seven and walking one over 111 pitches.
Yamamoto’s rare feat meant something extra to Kiké Hernandez, the utilityman and clubhouse staple.
Before last year’s World Series run, Hernández took Yamamoto out for lunch before the team’s first playoff series. The purpose was for the seasoned veteran to calm whatever nerves Yamamoto was facing as a high-profile pitcher heading into his first MLB postseason. Hernández could hardly have imagined that 12 months later he’d be in such awe of his teammate.
“I’m just really proud of him,” Hernández said. “A guy that came into a different country, different language, different culture, everything — it’s just basically a different world. And with all the expectations in the world, it’s very easy to put a lot of pressure on yourself and all these things.
“A lot of people would forget how young he was last year because of how much he accomplished over in Japan. You could say that he’s a seasoned vet, but he was only 24, 25 years old. So to see his growth in a year, for a guy that was basically established — he accomplished a lot in Japan — but to see the growth in a matter of two years, it’s just one of those things where you’re like, damn, this guy keeps getting better and better.”
The same can be said about this Dodgers rotation, one that has posted seven quality starts in eight games this October. Snell has allowed just two earned runs with 28 strikeouts over 21 innings. Tyler Glasnow shut out the Philadelphia Phillies for six innings in the deciding game of the NLDS. Shohei Ohtani recorded a quality start in his first outing. And after his spectacular effort Tuesday, Yamamoto’s playoff ERA now sits at 1.83.
“We said before this postseason started, our starting pitching was going to be what carried us,” third baseman Max Muncy said. “And so far it’s been exactly that.”
Tuesday night was simply Yamamoto’s turn to carry the torch. Roberts described a “real confidence” in Yamamoto this October, and said it wasn’t a hard decision to send his starter back out for the ninth inning.
“I think it’s the most comfortable I’ve seen him for sure,” Muncy said. “The more I’ve gotten to know him, the more I still think there’s more in there. And I think he thinks there’s more in there too, which is really hard to say because he’s been incredible this year. He’s been our most reliable guy.
“He’s just incredible the way he goes about pitching, goes about attacking hitters, the number of pitches he can throw, the number of pitches he can command. It’s really, really impressive.”