When asked about the Dodgers’ $325 star’s drive, Dave Roberts said, “Character, compete, all of the above. Because it’s past the physical. This is the mental part of it—where he’s as strong mentally as guys I’ve seen.” After the Dodgers sealed their Game 6 win at Rogers Centre on Friday night, manager Dave Roberts made it clear “everyone will be available” for Saturday’s Game 7.

By “everyone,” Roberts was hinting at Yoshinobu Yamamoto, too.

Game 7 is set just a day after he delivered six strong innings of one-run ball in the Dodgers’ Game 6 win.

He was seen throwing on the field before the game, and according to Roberts, the final decision would be made after discussions with everyone involved.

“We’ll see how he is in catch play but he said that if he feels good, he is definitely interested,” Roberts revealed.

In fact, a few hours before Saturday’s game, Yamamoto was seen warming up on the Rogers Centre field. So, given that Yoshi is available, even for just an inning, it could give the Dodgers a huge lift as they look to piece together 27 outs with a worn-down bullpen.

All postseason long, no one has likely pitched better than Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

He threw back-to-back complete games before delivering another gem on Friday night. That night, in Game 6, the Japanese sensation threw 96 pitches. And yet, in the last game of the season, he wants to help his team in any way possible.

He was even present in the bullpen during Game 3, ready to pitch a potential 19th inning, right before Freddie Freeman ended it with his 18th-inning walk-off homer.

Meanwhile, ahead of the game, Dave Roberts also revealed the pitching plan for Yamamoto’s favorite teammate.

Dodgers manager’s pitching plan for Shohei Ohtani in Game 7

The Dodgers have spent the entire season being very patient when it came down to managing Shohei Ohtani’s workload. The Dodgers are finally letting him loose this time.

Ohtani took the ball for Game 7 of the World Series against the Blue Jays. He pitched on just three days’ rest after throwing more than six innings in Game 4.

Before the game, Dave Roberts opened up about the team’s plan for their two-way superstar.

“As far as innings, not sure. It depends on how he comes out, how he looks, how he’s throwing, and how he’s feeling. So I just kind of want to withhold any kind of expectation and kind of read and react.”

“Last night we talked to him, and he said he was on board for starting,” Roberts added. “To be able to start him, it allows for us to kind of let him run as long as we can versus having him on the back end of the game.”

Roberts believes that Ohtani’s outing would ultimately decide how long he stays on the mound. “I expect him to show well,” he said.

During Game 4 at Dodger Stadium, Ohtani held the Blue Jays to just two runs over six solid innings. But trouble struck in the seventh inning when the first two batters reached base and later scored after he left the game. Those runs proved costly. It ultimately handed Ohtani the loss in Toronto’s 6–2 win.

Now, finally, in Game 7, he pitched for just 2.1 innings (51 pitches), allowing 3 earned runs, 2 walks, 5 hits, while striking out 3.

Could you catch his final start of the season, though?