TORONTO — Late Friday night, after winning Game 6 of the World Series at Rogers Centre, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was quick to say “everyone will be available” for Saturday’s Game 7.
That list might even include Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the pitching star of the entire postseason, a day after he worked six innings of one-run ball in the Dodgers’ Game 6 victory. Yamamoto threw on the field prior to the game, and Roberts said all parties would discuss the plan afterward.
“We’ll see how he is in catch play — but he said that if he feels good, he is definitely interested,” Roberts said.
It’s a reversal from Friday night, when Roberts clarified that Yamamoto would actually be the one pitcher who would be unavailable. Yamamoto himself joked that he was looking forward to cheering on his teammates. If he is available — even for one inning — it could be a major boost for a Dodgers team that needs to find a path to 27 outs with a beleaguered bullpen.
All postseason, nobody has pitched better than Yamamoto, who had worked consecutive complete games before his excellent outing on Friday night. In the middle of all that, Yamamoto also retreated to the Dodger Stadium bullpen to warm up for a potential 19th inning in Game 3 — before Freddie Freeman’s 18th-inning walk-off homer.
“Character, compete, all of the above,” Roberts said when asked to describe Yamamoto’s drive. “Because it’s past the physical. This is the mental part of it — where he’s as strong mentally as guys I’ve seen.”
