Yoshinobu Yamamoto tossed his second consecutive complete game in Game 2 of the World Series, marking the first time a starter has gone the distance in the Fall Classic since 2015.
While pitching in the postseason almost solely revolved around the strength of a team’s starting rotation in the years of my early youth and for preceding generations, the sport has unmistakably changed in the last couple of decades as bullpen optimization and usage has become much more prevalent.
Starters are given shorter leashes, every baserunner is a rally and there always seems to be a reason that a manager feels the reliever has the advantage over a starter. For Dodgers righty Yoshinobu Yamamoto however, baseball fans of old have been treated with a blast from the past.
After allowing a home run on the first pitch he threw in Game 2 of the NLCS, Yamamoto locked in for a complete game, the first in any postseason game since Justin Verlander in Game 2 of the 2017 ALCS.
It appeared to be the same routine for Yamamoto on Saturday, who dealt with some first-inning traffic before settling in, allowing just one run on four hits over a stellar nine innings with no walks and eight strikeouts.
Yamamoto’s mastery in consecutive starts invokes the dominance of lefty Madison Bumgarner in the postseason last decade, while reminding baseball fans of a time when complete games were more of an expectation than an achievement.
Saturday’s complete game marked the sixth World Series complete game since the turn of the century, and the first since Johnny Cueto stymied the New York Mets in Game 2 of the 2015 World Series.
With Dodgers fans across the globe reveling in Yamamoto’s spectacular outings, here’s a look back at the most recognizable World Series complete games of the 21st century.
Johnny Cueto, Game 2 of 2015 World Series
A longtime ace for the Cincinnati Reds, Cueto was heavily sought after at the 2015 trade deadline and was eventually dealt to the Kansas City Royals in exchange for a prospect package headlined by Brandon Finnegan.
Cueto’s regular season production actually took a bit of a downturn after arriving in the 816, going 4-7 with a 4.76 ERA over 13 starts, a jump of more than two runs in his ERA from his 2.62 mark over 19 starts with Cincinnati.
As for the postseason up until this point for Cueto, it had also been a mixed bag. The righty allowed four earned runs in six innings in Game 2 of the ALDS against the Houston Astros, later allowing just two earned runs in eight innings in a clinching Game 5 victory.
However, Cueto entered his World Series start looking to follow up on a disaster. Against the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 3 of the ALCS, Cueto surrendered eight earned runs in just two innings in what was ultimately an 11-8 Kansas City loss.
Those memories quickly faded into the past as Cueto took the bump in the 2015 Fall Classic, tossing a 122-pitch complete game against the New York Mets to secure a 2-0 lead in the World Series.
The tricky-to-read right-hander masterfully pitched to contact throughout the evening, allowing just two hits, one earned run and three walks alongside four strikeouts in a 7-1 Royals win. Cueto’s start proved to be pivotal, as the Royals ultimately won the World Series four games to one.
Madison Bumgarner, Game 5 of 2014 World Series
Just a singular piece to what was perhaps the most dominant postseason ever from a pitcher, Madison Bumgarner adequately rose to the occasion in a masterpiece during Game 5 of the 2014 World Series.
After already stumping the Kansas City Royals beyond belief in a blowout Game 1 victory, the Giants found themselves locked in a 2-2 series tie after Kansas City picked up wins in Games 2 and 3.
The final home game of the season for the Giants, Bumgarner was entrusted with giving San Francisco two chances to clinch for when the series moved back to Kauffman Stadium. Needless to say, “Big Game” James Shields of the Royals was simply no match.
Bumgarner was in complete control for the entirety of a wire-to-wire Game 5 win, delivering a 117-pitch complete game shutout against a Royals team that made their name on putting the ball in play and administering stress towards opposing pitchers.
The Royals managed just a single runner in scoring position, coming in the form of an Omar Infante double in the fifth inning, with Kansas City failing to significantly threaten to score at any other point.
Bumgarner allowed just four hits, striking out eight Royals batters without allowing a walk as he gave the Giants a 3-2 advantage in the series in a 5-0 win. The lefty ace returned to the mound in relief in Game 7, twirling an epic five-inning save to secure the third championship in five years for San Francisco.
The complete game shutout also marked the second of that postseason for Bumgarner, with the ace also shutting out the Pittsburgh Pirates in the do-or-die NL Wild Card Game that began the postseason.
Josh Beckett, Game 6 of 2003 World Series
Undoubtedly one of the finest pitching performances of my lifetime, a 23-year-old Josh Beckett completed an unprecedented Fall Classic upset with a complete game shutout of the New York Yankees in a clinching Game 6 at the old Yankee Stadium.
Beckett would later further solidify his status as a playoff hero in 2007, but his work from 2003 was more than enough to etch his name in the history books.
Though Beckett took a tough loss after a great performance in Game 3 of the World Series, allowing two earned runs in 7.1 innings, he previously tossed a complete game shutout when facing seemingly all the pressure in the world.
With his Florida Marlins trailing 3-1 to the Chicago Cubs in the NLCS, Beckett tossed a complete game shutout at home in Game 5, sending the series back to Wrigley Field where the Marlins triumphantly finished the comeback. This of course also included a stellar outing from Beckett in relief in Game 7 of that NLCS, in which he allowed just one hit, a solo home run, in four innings of work.
The Yankees were subjected to much of the same treatment in Game 6, managing just five hits and two walks throughout the contest as Beckett went the distance on just three days’ rest for the Fish in a championship-winning 2-0 victory.
Throughout Game 6, the Yankees failed to advance a runner to third base, with a runner only reaching scoring position on three occasions. A star-studded lineup filled with generational stars and a future Hall of Famer was simply silenced by the young Texan.
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