Greatest playoff pitcher ever? Yoshinobu Yamamoto already in the conversation with stellar postseason résumé — SkimNews
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- Yoshinobu Yamamoto struck out 10 in seven innings while allowing just one run in his NLDS Game 3 start against Chris Sale and the Braves, helping the two-time defending champion Dodgers close out the series.
- Yamamoto's career playoff numbers — 8-1 record, 2.14 ERA, 0.83 WHIP and 58 strikeouts over 63 innings — place him fourth among post-integration starters with at least 60 playoff innings, behind only Bob Gibson (1.89), Fernando Valenzuela (1.98) and Madison Bumgarner (2.11).
- Yamamoto rebounded from a rough playoff debut (five earned runs in three innings in the 2024 NLDS opener) to post a 1.50 ERA across his next 60 postseason innings.
- Yamamoto earned 2025 World Series MVP honors after going 3-0 with a 1.02 ERA and 0.68 WHIP across 17⅔ innings, and he's now 5-0 with a 1.07 ERA in his last five postseason outings.
- The Dodgers leaned on Yamamoto for back-to-back complete games last October (NLCS Game 2 against the Brewers and World Series Game 2), then watched him record 2⅔ relief innings to pick up the win in Game 7 of the Fall Classic.
- Yamamoto is just 27 years old, signed through 2035, and pitching for a Dodgers club that reaches the postseason annually — leaving his already-historic ledger with significant room to grow beginning with Monday's start.
Why it matters: Yamamoto is 27, signed through 2035, and pitching for a perennial playoff contender — meaning his already-historic 2.14 playoff ERA is far from its ceiling. In an era when starters increasingly go short, his track record of seven-inning gems against frontline aces like Chris Sale underscores a rare and sustainable October workload.
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