In a masterful pitching clinic, the Los Angeles Dodgers cruised to a 5-1 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series on October 14, 2025, at American Family Field. Yoshinobu Yamamoto delivered a complete-game gem, stifling Milwaukee’s offense after an early jolt and propelling the Dodgers to a commanding 2-0 series advantage as the action shifts to Dodger Stadium.
The Brewers struck first in the bottom of the first inning, with 21-year-old sensation Jackson Chourio crushing a leadoff home run on the very first pitch of the game off Yamamoto—his second postseason homer and a quick 1-0 lead for Milwaukee. But that would be the extent of the damage, as Yamamoto settled in, retiring the final 14 Brewers batters he faced and scattering just two more hits over the next eight innings.
The Dodgers wasted no time responding in the top of the second against Milwaukee ace Freddy Peralta. Teoscar Hernández belted a solo home run to right field, tying the game at 1-1, followed immediately by Andy Pages’ RBI double that plated Mookie Betts and gave Los Angeles a 2-1 edge. Peralta, who entered with a stellar 2.49 ERA during the regular season, labored through the early frames but kept the Dodgers off the board until later.
The game remained tight until the top of the sixth, when Max Muncy unleashed a 412-foot solo shot to center field—his 14th career playoff homer with the Dodgers and first RBI of the 2025 postseason—pushing the lead to 3-1 and chasing Peralta after 5⅔ innings. Muncy, now with 35 RBIs across 70 playoff games, has been a postseason force for LA.
Milwaukee turned to its bullpen, but the Dodgers kept the pressure on. In the seventh, Kiké Hernández led off with a double, advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Pages, and scored on Shohei Ohtani’s RBI single up the middle—Ohtani’s first hit, RBI, and stolen base of the NLCS, extending the advantage to 4-1. The eighth saw Tommy Edman add insurance with an RBI single that brought home Will Smith, making it 5-1, though LA left the bases loaded after a double play ended the threat.
Yamamoto, the $325 million offseason signee, etched his name in Dodgers lore with his first MLB complete game (and 15th overall, including Japan), allowing just the three hits while striking out seven in 99 pitches. It marked the first time since 1988 that Dodgers pitchers tossed at least eight innings in consecutive playoff games, underscoring LA’s rotation dominance: a 2.73 ERA since August 1 and a .173 opponents’ average in September, the lowest in MLB history for a month.
MLB on X (formerly Twitter): “YOSHINOBU YAMAMOTO FINISHES OFF A COMPLETE GAME ON PITCH NO. 111!#NLCS pic.twitter.com/swcxV67ouu / X”
YOSHINOBU YAMAMOTO FINISHES OFF A COMPLETE GAME ON PITCH NO. 111!#NLCS pic.twitter.com/swcxV67ouu
Peralta took the loss (0-1), yielding three runs on six hits, while Milwaukee’s offense managed only three hits total and went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position. The Dodgers, now 7-1 in the playoffs after a 3-1 NLDS win over Philadelphia, head home eyeing a sweep. Game 3 is Wednesday at Dodger Stadium, with the Brewers desperate to avoid their first 0-3 hole in a postseason series since 1982.
