Yamamoto Brings the Heat: Yankees Reporter Hails Japanese Ace for ‘Locking Down’ the Big Apple

The Los Angeles Dodgers of the American Major League won 4-2 in Game 2 of the World Series (WS) against the New York Yankees held at their home stadium on the 27th (Korean time), recording a record of 2 wins and 0 losses. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who started as a starting pitcher, pitched 6⅓ innings, allowing 1 hit, 4 strikeouts, and 1 run, earning his first win in his first appearance in the World Series. A Yankees reporter praised him, saying, “It was a great pitch, and he shut down New York with one hit.”

Yamamoto showed off an overwhelming pitching performance on the dream stage. In the first inning, 0-0, with one out and two on second base, Alone Judge, who had hit 58 home runs this season, struck out a swing with a low slider at the plate. In the third inning with a 1-0 lead, Juan Soto allowed a tying solo home run over the right field wall, but other than that, he did not give up a hit. Judge continued his momentum by striking out a swing in his third at-bat. When he was replaced in the middle of the 7th inning, he showed off an excellent pitch that received a standing ovation.

Max Goodman, a Yankees reporter for NJ.com, a local media outlet in New Jersey, USA, paid tribute to Yamamoto through X (formerly Twitter) and wrote the following.

“Last offseason, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the Japanese ace the Yankees desperately wanted, had just received a standing ovation at Dodger Stadium after pitching 6 ⅓ innings of stellar innings in Game 2 of the World Series. He shut out New York with one hit. Soto’s solo home run in the third inning. This was the only hit.”

Meanwhile, Shohei Ohtani played as the “No. 1 designated hitter”, but was injured shortly after attempting to steal a base. It was reported that he suffered a “dislocated left shoulder,” and the team is scheduled to play the third game on the road after a day’s rest.

Photo = Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images, AFP / Yonhap News