Yoshinobu Yamamoto has been preparing since he was 19 years old to pitch complete games and then relieve in the World Series, proactively volunteering to take the mound.

Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto of the Los Angeles Dodgers warmed up in the bullpen at the start of the 18th inning in extra innings today. When Freddie Freeman hit the walk-off homer to end this marathon game, Yamamoto laughed and said, "I was ultimately rescued by that home run. It feels great to win such an intense match."

As the game reached the 18th inning, Yamamoto started warming up in the bullpen. Although Freeman’s walk-off home run ended the game in that inning and Yamamoto did not get to pitch, head coach Dave Roberts came over to embrace him as he returned to the dugout.

After the game, Yamamoto said, "I thought to myself, 'I have to go up.'" He also shared his conversation with Coach Roberts: "I know the coach wouldn’t say 'yes' easily, but we prepared while discussing the situation."

Yamamoto began preparing in the bullpen at the start of the top of the 18th inning. Broadcast footage also showed him, along with translator Yoshio Sonoda, approaching Coach Roberts during the 16th inning for a serious discussion.

He recalled the moment saying, "At that time, I just thought, 'I have to go.' My body felt fine, and since there was no one else available, I told the coach I was ready."

"It wasn’t exactly volunteering; it was more like there was truly no one else, so I said I could get ready," Yamamoto said with a smile. "My bullpen warm-up went well, and my body was fully warmed up. In the end, I was saved by the home run. I'm really happy we won such a tough game."

After the game, when hugging Shohei Ohtani and Roki Sasaki, he said, "To win such a fierce game together as a team is really joyful, and I’m grateful we pulled it off."

Yamamoto explained that after Clayton Kershaw left the game, only Will Klein was available to pitch, so he knew they still had to hold on for two or three more innings. "I was monitoring my physical condition and thought the coach probably wouldn’t agree immediately, but there was no other choice, so I warmed up while discussing it with him."

He said, "Actually, I've been working hard these past few years to be able to pitch in games like this. When I was 19, I once pitched five innings in a less important game but then couldn’t pitch again for nearly 10 days. Since then, I’ve trained continuously to make my body capable of pitching a complete game in the World Series and then being ready to pitch again two days later. This time, I really felt my growth and also recognized the excellence of my trainer, Osamu Yada."

Regarding the mental switch between starting and relieving, Yamamoto said, "There really isn’t time to switch mindset because I had already been preparing in the bullpen since the previous inning, so I just focused entirely on getting ready to pitch."

If he had gone to pitch, Yamamoto wasn’t sure how many innings he could throw, "but I planned to take it one inning at a time and pitch until I was told to stop." He added that he would continue to follow the original plan to start games.

Talking about the moment hugging Shohei Ohtani and Roki Sasaki, he said, "Winning such a fierce game together as a team is truly joyful, and I’m very thankful we managed to win."

Yamamoto admitted this was his first experience in an 18-inning marathon. He smiled and said, "The joy of winning is really immense." He added, "I’ve always prepared to pitch in games like this. Being able to pitch a complete game in the World Series and then recover enough to pitch again two days later proves my progress."