Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto shone again on the mound and led the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 3-1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday, forcing a decisive seventh game in the World Series.
The Dodgers, who needed a win to keep their championship hopes alive, got the performance they expected from Yamamoto. He pitched six innings, allowing five hits and one run with six strikeouts to earn the victory.
In the third inning, the Dodgers attacked right-hander Kevin Gausman of the Blue Jays, scoring three runs. The Dodgers' first run came on a double to left field by Will Smith, driving in Tommy Edman. Two more runs were scored on a single by Mookie Betts, allowing Japanese star Shohei Ohtani and Smith to score. The Blue Jays responded with one run (1-3) in the bottom of the third inning. With two outs, George Springer hit a two-run double, driving in Addison Barger for the home team's first run. In the sixth inning, Toronto threatened to close the gap, placing Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette on second and first base, respectively. However, Yamamoto struck out Daulton Varsho to end the inning without allowing any runs. In the ninth inning, Puerto Rican Kiké Hernández made a key double play to end the game and the threat from the Blue Jays, who had placed two runners on base, which would have tied the game.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts stated that the seventh game will be a "do-or-die" situation. "This is do-or-die, you have to give it your all on the field," Roberts told the press. He also highlighted another dominant performance from star Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who won his second game in this Fall Classic. "I trusted myself, I trusted my team and my teammates, and I just wanted to do my job," Yamamoto said, expecting a tough battle in the decisive game. Another hero of the Dodgers' victory was Mookie Betts, who was moved to the fourth spot in the batting order and responded with a two-run single that defined the final lead for the Los Angeles team.
