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The legend of Yoshinobu and Miggy Ro • A day after pitching six innings in Game 6, Yoshinobu Yamamoto came in and ended up finishing the game, cementing himself in postseason lore. He became the ninth pitcher in postseason history to appear in a game the day after going at least six innings, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The only other pitchers to do so in the last 70 years are Randy Johnson in the 2001 World Series (Games 6-7) and Orel Hershiser in the 1988 NLCS (3-4). Yamamoto went 2 2/3 innings, the most of any of those nine pitchers in their second appearance. • Yamamoto became the first pitcher to win three games in a single World Series since Johnson in 2001. All three of Yamamoto’s wins came on the road, making him the first pitcher with three road wins in a single World Series all-time. • Yamamoto became the fourth pitcher to win both Games 6 and 7 in a World Series, joining Johnson in 2001, Harry Brecheen in 1946 and Ray Kremer in 1925. Yamamoto is the first one to win both on the road. • Yamamoto would not have gotten a chance to pitch so many innings if not for the heroics of Miguel Rojas, who hit a game-tying home run in the top of the ninth. He was the second player in World Series history with a game-tying or go-ahead home run in the ninth inning of a winner-take-all game, joining Bill Mazeroski’s walk-off homer in 1960. Fresh Prince of the Fall Classic • As the game headed to extras, yet another hero emerged. Will Smith hit a solo homer in the 11th inning to give the Dodgers the lead. It was the first extra-inning home run in a winner-take-all game in World Series history. • Smith played a key role in every defensive inning for the Dodgers this World Series, catching every pitch. In total, he caught 73 innings, the most in a World Series all-time. He passed Lou Criger, who caught 71 innings across eight games in a best-of-nine series for the Boston Americans in the first edition of the Fall Classic in 1903, per Elias. The prior most in a seven-game World Series was 67 by Muddy Ruel in 1924. • This is Smith’s third ring and extended a very quirky streak: This is the sixth straight year a player named Will Smith won a World Series ring. He won in 2020, and then the reliever Will Smith won in 2021, 2022 and 2023. Call it a comeback • Just like in 2024, the Dodgers engineered a comeback to clinch the World Series. There have now been 10 teams to come back from at least three runs down in a World Series clincher, with the largest comeback being the Dodgers’ five-run comeback in Game 5 of the 2024 Fall Classic. Three runs is tied for the third-largest comeback win to clinch the World Series. Before the Dodgers last year, no team had come back from at least three runs in a World Series clincher since the Mets in 1986. Now it has happened in back-to-back years by the same team. • But this comeback came in a Game 7, tied for the third-largest comeback win in a best-of-seven winner-take-all game in MLB history, per Elias. The Yankees overcame a four-run deficit in Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS, while the Pirates did the same in the 1925 World Series. There were three other instances of a three-run comeback, all in the World Series: 1986 Mets, 1975 Reds and 1960 Pirates. • The Dodgers trailed by a run entering the ninth inning. Teams trailing entering the ninth in World Series winner-take-all games are now 3-33 all-time. The other two wins are the 2001 Diamondbacks and 1997 Marlins. The Dodgers are the only team to do this on the road.
