MILWAUKEE -- Dodgers right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto has been the most dominant pitcher in recent postseason memory, but he unraveled in a rematch against the Brewers on Monday in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series.
In his return to American Family Field, where he tossed the first complete game of his career in Game 2 of last year’s NLCS, Yamamoto got chased in a 36-pitch third inning to record the shortest postseason start of his career.
With the Dodgers leading 2-1, Yamamoto allowed a sinking liner to the No. 9 batter David Hamilton to open the frame. After Kyle Tucker tracked down Jackson Chourio’s liner to the right-center gap, Hamilton stole second.
The complexion of the inning changed when Brice Turang, who homered off Tarik Skubal in Game 1, walked. On the sixth pitch of the plate appearance, Yamamoto’s cutter appeared to clip the outside corner for strike three but was called ball four. Yamamoto motioned for catcher Will Smith to ask for an ABS challenge, but he did not, so Turang reached.
Following William Contreras’ flyout to center, Yamamoto threw a career-high 12 pitches in a battle with Jake Bauers, a plate appearance which included six straight fouls and a PitchCom issue. It resulted in a walk to load the bases.
Brewers captain Christian Yelich, who didn’t play in Game 1, then sent Yamamoto’s hanging curveball to center for a two-run single to chase the 2025 World Series MVP and give Milwaukee a 3-2 lead.
At 75 pitches (46 strikes), this marked the most pitches Yamamoto had thrown in the first three innings of a game since June 13, 2025 (76). It was just the fourth time in his MLB career with at least 75 through three frames.
“You’ve got to give credit to [William] Contreras, Bauers, those guys put together great at-bats,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said on FOX in-game. “They took some pitches that were tough, took the pitch count -- I think they were 10, 12-pitch at-bats -- you’ve got to give credit to them. And then he hangs a breaking ball to Yelich. I felt that we had to stop the damage right there and get [Alex] Vesia in there.”
The Dodgers entered Monday 9-1 in Yamamoto’s postseason starts and undefeated in his six on the road. Among pitchers with at least 10 postseason starts, Yamamoto ranked as follows all-time:
ERA: 2.24 (fifth)
WHIP: 0.83 (second)
BA: .175 (second)
SLG: .272 (second)
Milwaukee snapped Yamamoto’s stretch of four consecutive postseason starts of six-plus innings and one or zero runs, which was two shy of Curt Schilling.