...
By Noah Camras
Contributing Sports Writer
0
Share
Newsweek is a Trust Project member
See more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.
The Los Angeles Dodgers entered the 2025 season as clear favorites to win back-to-back titles, but their run to the World Series was anything but easy.
The Dodgers dealt with countless injuries and underperforming stars throughout the season. They escaped in the National League West with a 93-win season, and had to play in the Wild Card round, where they swept the Cincinnati Reds.
More news: Magic Johnson Sends Message to Blue Jays Fans After Dodgers World Series Win
Read More on MLB
The Dodgers then faced the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League Division Series — which many dubbed as the real World Series — winning it in four games. Then, after sweeping the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Championship Series, the Dodgers met up with the American League's No. 1 seed in the Toronto Blue Jays.
Despite the team's underperforming lineup and year-long bullpen struggles, the Dodgers beat the Blue Jays in seven games in the World Series. They had to rely on their superstars, though, especially Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who pitched three times in the seven-game series.
After Yamamoto's Game 6 performance — in which he allowed one run across six innings on 96 pitches — the Japanese right-hander came back in Game 7, and got the final eight outs to secure LA's back-to-back championship.
Manager Dave Roberts, who trusted Yamamoto to throw 526 pitches across six postseason appearances, admitted that he was "crazy" for allowing Yamamoto to keep pitching in Game 7 as the game went into the 10th and 11th innings.
More news: Dodgers World Series Hero Almost Didn’t Play in Game 7
...
"Throwing a hundred pitches and come back after one day off and going three innings. It's pretty crazy. I'm kind of crazy for sending him back out there. But I just felt he was the best option," Roberts said.
"And, again, it's something that I just never imagined, but you got to trust players, and I believed in him, we all believed in him, and yeah, this game -- again, I'm having a hard time unpacking it, just what a great series, what a great game, and I think we're going to be talking about this game for a long time."
In the end, Yamamoto proved his manager right, as he willed LA to a second straight World Series title, earning MVP honors when it was all said and done.
More news: Yoshinobu Yamamoto Says He Was ‘Tricked’ Into Pitching for Dodgers in Game 7
For all the latest MLB news and rumors, head over to Newsweek Sports
View 0 Comments
Submit Correction
View Editorial & AI Guidelines