Yoshinobu

Yamamoto

As expected, it was a landslide, with the right-hander taking all 30 first-place votes. Cristopher Sánchez received all 30 second-place votes, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto finished third. Skenes finished with a win-loss record of just 10-10, but voters saw through it with a 1.97 ERA, 216/42 K/BB over his 187 2/3 innings with the Pirates. It’s the second time a player has won the award a year after winning the Cy Young, joining Doc Gooden. He’ll deservedly be one of the first pitchers off the board come 2026.

Skenes represents the overwhelming favorite to capture his second consecutive Cy Young Award after leading the majors with microscopic 1.97 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and 216/42 K/BB ratio across 187 2/3 innings over 32 starts. Yamamoto has already collected some hardware this postseason, earning World Series MVP honors after a historic Fall Classic performance. The 27-year-old right-hander posted a 2.49 ERA, 0.99 WHIP and 201/59 K/BB ratio across 173 2/3 innings in 30 regular-season starts, then followed it up with a 1.45 ERA, 0.78 WHIP and 33/6 K/BB ratio over 36 2/3 postseason innings. Sánchez represents the dark-horse candidate despite continuing to establish himself among the National League’s elite arms with a 2.50 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 212/44 K/BB ratio across 202 innings over 32 starts. The winner will be announced on Wednesday, November 12.

To say Yamamoto was deserving of the honor would be a massive understatement. The 27-year-old ace authored a 105-pitch complete-game masterpiece in Game 2 against Toronto, earning a crucial win that evened the best-of-seven series. He returned to the mound in Game 6 with the Dodgers facing elimination and delivered again, allowing just one run over six strong innings. Then, on zero days’ rest, Yamamoto recorded the final eight outs in Game 7 — twice pitching out of jams with a runner on third and less than two outs without surrendering a run. His legendary workhorse performance — throwing caution to the wind with a championship on the line — stands out even more in an era when pitchers’ workloads are so carefully managed He was the defining force in what will undoubtedly be remembered as one of the greatest World Series ever played.

Despite throwing 96 pitches in a must-win victory over the Blue Jays on Friday night, Yamamoto told manager Dave Roberts before Game 7 that he was ready — and available — out of the bullpen if needed. Roberts called his name with two men on and one out in a tie game in the ninth. After plunking Alejandro Kirk to load the bases, Yamamoto induced Daulton Varsho to bounce into a fielder’s choice that cut down the potential winning run at the plate, then escaped the inning when Ernie Clement’s drive into the left-center gap was tracked down by Andy Pages on a sensational running catch. Yamamoto wasn’t done. He came back out to fire scoreless frames in the 10th and 11th innings, sealing the title by getting Kirk to roll into a season-ending double play with the tying run on third in the 11th. An absolutely herculean effort from Yamamoto, who finished the postseason with a dominant 1.45 ERA, 0.78 WHIP and a 33/6 K/BB ratio over 36 2/3 innings — earning five victories and a permanent place in Dodgers lore.

The 27-year-old right-hander threw 96 pitches during Friday night’s victory over the Blue Jays in Game 6. He played catch on the field on Saturday afternoon though and told his skipper that he’s ready to go if needed out of the bullpen. It’ll be an all hands-on deck approach for the Dodgers in a winner-take-all Game 7 on Saturday night in Toronto.

It’s official. Ohtani will take the ball on just three days’ rest opposite future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer for a Game 7 showdown at Rogers Centre to decide an electric Fall Classic. The 31-year-old two-way superstar was always expected to factor into Los Angeles’ pitching plan for the winner-take-all contest, but it makes the most sense from a routine standpoint to have him start before handing things over to the bullpen. Yoshinobu Yamamoto is the lone Dodgers starter unlikely to pitch barring an emergency, while Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow — who needed just three pitches to record the save in Game 6 — will both be available in relief.

Let’s do seven. Yamamoto wasn’t as dominant as his sensational Game 2 start, but that’s more compliment to that outing than insult to this one. The 27-year-old gave up just one run on a 3-0 pitch he left in the middle of the plate to George Springer for a run-scoring single. He did have to wiggle out of some james, but wiggle out he did. It seems very unlikely that Yamamoto will be available for Sunday’s Game 7, but his impressive regular season campaign and spectacular postseason will make him one of the first pitchers off the board come 2026 draft time.

In every October run, there’s a swing that becomes shorthand for everything else. This one will be remembered forever — especially if the Dodgers go on to win their second straight title. Freeman put the exclamation point on the longest game in World Series history, ending a nearly seven-hour extra-inning marathon with a majestic fly ball that barely cleared the center-field fence. This game had everything: spectacular defense on both sides, heroic relief outings from unheralded arms like Toronto lefty Eric Lauer — who fired 4 2/3 shutout frames — and Dodgers righty Will Klein, who delivered four scoreless innings on a career-high 72 pitches. And, as the 19th inning loomed, Yoshinobu Yamamoto was warming up in the bullpen — just two days removed from throwing a 105-pitch complete game. The two clubs will meet again in just a few hours for Game 4 of the Fall Classic at Dodger Stadium with Shohei Ohtani taking the mound opposite Shane Bieber. Are you not entertained?

Yamamoto became the first pitcher to throw consecutive complete games in the postseason since Curt Schilling accomplished the feat back in 2001. The 27-year-old fantasy ace struck out eight batters on the evening and didn’t walk a batter. He retired the final 20 hitters that he faced following Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s one-out single in the third inning. The lone tally against him came on a sacrifice fly from Alejandro Kirk in the third. He’s the first Dodgers pitcher since Orel Hershiser in 1988 to record back-to-back complete games during the postseason — and in the era of pitch counts and specialized bullpens, Yamamoto’s feat may be even more impressive. He generated 17 swinging strikes in the contest — six on his splitter — while registering a 32 percent CSW. He now boasts a 1.57 ERA, 0.73 WHIP and a 26/4 K/BB ratio over 28 2/3 innings in his four starts this postseason. He’ll be ready once again should the series push to a Game 6 on Friday in Toronto.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts confirmed Snell will kick off the Fall Classic when he takes the ball in Game 1 at the Rogers Centre on Friday night. The 32-year-old southpaw has posted a sublime 0.86 ERA across 21 innings over three starts this postseason. Yamamoto draws the starting assignment for Game 2 on Saturday evening in Toronto on the heels of a complete-game win over the Brewers his last time out in the NLCS.