Dodgers' Yoshinobu Yamamoto tosses gem in Game 2 of World Series vs. Blue Jays

TORONTO — Of the 82 pitches Kevin Gausman threw in Game 2 of the World Series on Saturday, almost all of them were either untouchable or produced no damage.

Yet two swings by Will Smith did damage, and that was the very narrow margin between Gausman and Los Angeles Dodgers stalwart Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Smith’s go-ahead home run in the seventh inning broke up a fantastic pitching duel, and Yamamoto pitched a four-hitter, lifting the Dodgers to a 5-1 victory at Rogers Centre.

This World Series is tied 1-1 as the clubs flee Canada for the sunny climes of Los Angeles and the middle three games of seven. In squaring the series, the Dodgers buried some of the demons from their Game 1 shellacking at the hands of the Blue Jays.

Yamamoto briefly followed in Game 1 starter Blake Snell’s footsteps, throwing 23 pitches in a high-stress first inning that resulted in no runs and a pair of Blue Jays stranded on base. Yet unlike Snell, Yamamoto did not wear any residual damage from hanging that zero: He gave up a tying sacrifice fly to Alejandro Kirk in the third inning, starting a string of 20 consecutive batters retired to finish the game.

On a night World Series walk-off legend Joe Carter threw out the first pitch and 44,607 fans at Rogers Centre roared as the score remained 1-1, Yamamoto methodically rocked them to sleep — one night after the Blue Jays roared with 14 hits in an 11-4 Game 1 romp.

Yamamoto wasn’t having any of that. His pitch counts every subsequent inning after his sketchy first bordered on the absurd: 10, 13, six, eight, 11, eight and then 14 as he struck out the side in the eighth inning, unleashing every weapon in his arsenal: a curveball to set down Andrés Giménez and then 96 mph fastballs to set down George Springer swinging and Nathan Lukes looking.

Meanwhile, the Dodgers finally got to Gausman as Max Muncy followed Smith out to left field two batters later, his opposite-field drive ending the right-hander’s night trailing 3-1. They tacked on two more runs off reliever Louis Varland in the eighth, giving Yamamoto space to complete his wizardry and keep the Dodgers bullpen idled.

The Dodgers stayed away from their weakness and leaned into their strength: Yamamoto, who’s now led them to victory in seven of his eight postseason outings over two World Series runs.