TORONTO — Randy Johnson stared into the eyes of Christy Mathewson. This was in late July, in the plaque gallery at the Baseball Hall of Fame. Johnson was studying the likeness of a pitcher who once overtook autumn the way he did, about a century earlier.

“You know, you’re one of the few people to ever do what Mathewson did,” a visitor told Johnson. “You both won three games in a World Series.”

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“Yeah,” Johnson replied. “But one of mine was in relief.”

Fair enough. But when that third victory comes in Game 7, after a start and a win the night before, the achievement echoes through the hallowed corridors of Cooperstown. It is the kind of thing that keeps us watching in wonder and warm all winter. It is greatness.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto of the Los Angeles Dodgers joined the club on Saturday at Rogers Centre, capping a spellbinding World Series finale that could break your bat and your heart. Yamamoto earned his third victory, a 5-4 triumph over the Toronto Blue Jays that ended in the 11th inning on the shattered bat of Alejandro Kirk, who tapped a splitter to Mookie Betts at shortstop for a season-ending double play.

For Yamamoto, it was the culmination of one of the most remarkable pitching feats in World Series history. In Game 2, two Saturdays ago, he authored the first World Series complete game in a decade. Facing elimination in Game 6 on Friday, he beat the Blue Jays again with six strong innings.

Then, in Game 7, Yamamoto collected the final eigh