An unlikely friendship powers the Dodgers’ pitching dominance

The two Los Angeles Dodgers starters Blake Snell and Yoshinobu Yamamoto are among the few to understand what it is like to dominate a league, with Snell claiming two Cy Young Awards and Yamamoto having three Sawamura Awards to his name in Japan. (Instagram snellzilla4, Facebook via MLB)

By FABIAN ARDAYA / THE ATHLETIC

The ritual began in spring training, when Blake Snell sought out Yoshinobu Yamamoto at breakfast and pestered him about his craft.

Those breakfast chats became part of their daily routines. The two Los Angeles Dodgers starters are among the few to understand what it is like to dominate a league, with Snell claiming two Cy Young Awards and Yamamoto having three Sawamura Awards to his name in Japan.

So began a kinship that has led one of the greatest collections of starting pitching talents in recent postseason memory, with the two pushing each other each step of the way.

“Watching him succeed, there’s nothing better,” Snell said of Yamamoto at his locker last Tuesday, after the two etched their way into Dodgers postseason lore over two nights in Milwaukee. “It’s just so much fun.”

The two represent an odd couple. Snell is tall, lanky and left-handed with a viral high school rap video circulating on the internet. Yamamoto is the diminutive, nimble right-hander who signed the richest deal ever for a pitcher, whose training ritual is the stuff of legend, and who showed up to American Family Field with his hair dyed black and giggled when talking about it.

A language barrier represents a gulf between them. Still, the two have often been side by side, studying each other’s starts as they have dissected some of the game’s best lineups.

Film study should be going pretty well this week. A night after Snell turned in one of the finest postseason pitching performances in recent memory in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series, Yamamoto responded by becoming the first Dodger to twirl a postseason complete game since José Lima 21 years ago.

Yamamoto allowed just one run against a Brewers team these two aces have utterly dominated. Snell and Yamamoto became the first Dodgers starters to go at least eight innings in consecutive postseason games since Orel Hershiser and Tim Belcher did so to open the 1988 NLCS against the New York Mets.

That team, memorably, won it all. Last year’s World Series champion Dodgers won despite their starting pitching. Now, in a tribute to the organization’s rich pitching history, their pursuit of a second consecutive title hinges largely on their dynamic starters from Snell to Yamamoto to Tyler Glasnow and Shohei Ohtani.

“When you can have your most talented pitchers get the most outs, then you’re in a good spot,” manager Dave Roberts said.

Snell became the first pitcher since Don Larsen in the 1956 World Series to face the minimum through eight innings. When he returned to the dugout after his final inning of work, Yamamoto greeted him with a bow.

Then, in Game 2, it was Yamamoto’s turn to work deep into the game.

Jackson Chourio jumped all over the first fastball he threw, launching it into the right-field seats for a leadoff home run. But Chourio would be the only Brewer all night who would so much as touch second base.

Yamamoto allowed just three hits and a walk over his nine innings, with one other batter reaching on an error. He retired the final 14 batters he faced, exuding so much control over the game that Roberts never even considered sitting Yamamoto for the ninth inning.

It had been exactly eight years since there had been a complete game in the postseason, when Justin Verlander went nine innings and allowed just one run against the New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series. Yamamoto joined him with his 111th pitch, a total that spoke to his supreme efficiency.

“That’s probably the two best back-to-back games pitched ever, that I’ve seen,” said Will Smith, who was behind the plate both nights. “Just glad they’re on our side.”

The Dodgers have spoken often this season about the confidence that has come in Yamamoto’s second season in the majors, and the trust that has been created. It also doesn’t hurt that he has been able to lean on Snell.

Which made Snell all the more excited to talk about him on Tuesday.

“Seeing the way it started, a home run, it can rattle you,” Snell said. “But he stayed poised, understood. The way he attacked them afterward was great. He learned from it. So that was awesome to see. It’s fun to see him just learn, game plan, and go through the game and get better and better. He’s just evolving really quickly, and it’s a lot of fun to watch.”

It didn’t take much for Snell to lay out what he saw in Yamamoto, the prime free-agent pitching prize the year before the Dodgers shelled out for Snell.

“He has good energy, was easy to love and cheer for and root for,” Snell said.

The two bonded quickly over baseball. “And fashion,” Snell added. They had breakfast each morning together at the organization’s Arizona spring training complex. Yamamoto’s English improved enough in his second year that the brief conversations have evolved.

“At the personal level, I get to learn a lot from him,” Yamamoto said through his interpreter, Yoshihiro Sonoda. “After my outings, we kind of review together the game I pitched through. He tells me what he sees. And I think that’s great for me.”

The pairing has done wonders already. Now, after the Dodgers completed the sweep of Milwaukee on Friday, the ritual is part of the preparation for a World Series.