Pumped up for this homecoming

Dodgers take momentum to Ravine with fans set to give nemeses an earful

- BILL PLASCHKE COLUMNIST

Photographs by ROBERT GAUTHIER Los Angeles Times WILL SMITH enjoys his tiebreaking homer in a Game 2 win by the Dodgers that sets up three games at Dodger Stadium against George Springer and the Blue Jays.

Will Smith stared into left field, then turned to ignite the Dodgers' dugout with a scream.

Max Muncy stared into left field, then turned to quiet the stands with a finger on his lips.

Two blasts, two reactions, one saved World Series.

Sputtering after making 17 consecutive outs, threatening to ruin more brilliance by Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the Dodgers suddenly erupted with two long balls in about two minutes Saturday, seventh-inning home runs by Smith and Muncy rescuing their game and quite possibly their season in fueling a 5-1 victory over the host Toronto Blue Jays at the Rogers Centre to tie the Series at one game apiece.

While the two game-changing fastballs left the yard, Yamamoto never did, becoming the first pitcher to earn consecutive complete game postseason victories in 24 years and the first Dodger to bulldog it since Orel Hershiser in 1988.

That's right, on the heels of his complete-game gem against the Milwaukee Brewers in the NLCS, this was 105 more pitches of mastery, Yamamoto working all nine innings, giving up the one run, four hits, eight strikeouts, no walks, retiring the final 20 hitters, simply amazing, again.

GINA FERAZZI Los Angeles Times SHOHEI OHTANI, hitting a broken-bat single, is one of three front-line pitchers the Dodgers can start in the next three games.

"It was one of those things he said before the series, 'losing is not an option,' and he had that look tonight," said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts.