Dodgers ace shows again why Yankees and Mets coveted him

TORONTO — You saw it, right? It was impossible to miss if you were a fan of a New York baseball team longingly watching Game 2 of the World Series.

It was not just about the event your club was not participating in but the guy dominating that event Saturday night. You understood now why the Mets and Yankees were willing to move heaven, Earth and several hundred million dollars to secure a player who had never thrown a major league pitch.

There was Yoshinobu Yamamoto defying the offensive blunt force object that Toronto’s offense has been in October and beating back all the implications that would come with a defending champion returning to Los Angeles down two games already in the 121st Fall Classic.

Yamamoto countered all of that “with four or five pitches, all of which he could hit a flea [with],” Dodgers star first baseman Freddie Freeman said. Add in resolve and economy.