LOS ANGELES – Dodgers Game 2 starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto fooled the Yankees by throwing out a few random facts about winter pinstripes. You know, the kind of stuff you can find out by Googling. Anyway, whether intentional or not, this was a big change and made the Yankees think that the rumors that he was opting to go west were false and he was actually dreaming of the Bronx. Mistake!

Yamamoto did the same in Game 2, using a repertoire from the heavens to make all the Yankees except Juan Soto look like amateur-level players. Los Angeles’ 4-2 win. Yamamoto hasn’t been anywhere near as advertised since returning from shoulder soreness a few weeks ago, but he’s fooled us all once again by looking like the monster talent who received a record $325 million contract from the Dodgers. (The Yankees offered $300 million before realizing the money wouldn’t come no matter what.)

Yamamoto, who earned $1 million more than Yankees ace Gerrit Cole (albeit for one more year) and nearly double Yankees Game 2 starter Carlos Rodon’s $162 million in Yankees free-agent earnings, is the winner of his Major League career. He played his best game in his first start in the biggest game. scene. When you factor in the $50.6 million listing fee, it still seems well worth it today.

Meanwhile, Rodon was beaten; hammer it with a double hammer. The third successive innings from Teoscar Hernandez and Game 1 grand slam hero Freddie Freeman were scores that Yamamoto dominated in this manner. As Yamamoto departed after 6 ¹/₃ innings of one-hit baseball, he received perhaps the biggest ovation of the night when Dodgers fans showed up to enjoy Freeman’s Game 1 heroics.

The Yankees were supposed to have the starting advantage, but through two games the Dodgers had the better of there because Yamamoto was the best of the four starters and Rodon was clearly the worst. The Yankees needed to have rotation advantage because the Dodgers have a roster that doesn’t quit and a bullpen that is both the best and best-rested in baseball.

The Yankees didn’t do the little things right in Game 1, but when they couldn’t do the big things right either, they carried it over to Game 2.

When we look at the two matches, they don’t look very good. In fact, they look much less good than the crosstown race the Mets were looking at against the juggernaut of the Dodgers, which now shows why they’re favored to win this World Series.

The World Series opener was devastating because there was so much to cry about — from Aaron Boone’s risky pitching calls to Gleyber Torres’ careless defense, Anthony Rizzo’s odd baserunning, and even Carlos Torres’ strike zone. The umpire monitor estimated he was worth 0.41 runs to the Dodgers.

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No mistake or man in blue could change Game 2, which the Dodgers dominated almost from the start. There was no need for late-game fireworks in Game 2, as Yankees free agent prospect Juan Soto was limited to scoring runs — he also scored in the ninth after reaching a single off the wall — he only made two runs during his tenure with the Yankees. The game became more secure, which was a big improvement.

If the Yankees are going to pull off a slight upset and a big comeback, they need to win the rotation battle to start winning big. So far this is not happening.