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Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts saw plenty of good in Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s start Monday despite LA’s 1-0 loss to the San Diego Padres.
Yamamoto allowed the sole run of the game in the first inning, when Miguel Andujar crushed a splitter over the left-center field fence. He threw 6.1 scoreless innings afterwards, though, which is a good sign following a difficult stretch of starts against him.
Prior to Monday, Yamamoto allowed three or more runs in each of his previous four starts—something he had never done in MLB before.
“The last few haven’t been great, per his standards,” Roberts said, referring to Yamamoto’s last few starts. “But tonight, I thought, was a really good one. The win-loss, you’ve got to score runs for him, too. It was good to see him get back after that kind of shaky first inning tonight and pitch the way he did.”
“…It was just one of those things. It was a pitchers’ duel. [Yamamoto] made one mistake to the second hitter, [he] hits a homer and that’s all they could muster up. Unfortunately, we just couldn’t put anything together.”
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May 18, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto (18) throws a pitch during the first inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Denis Poroy-Imagn Images
Roberts’ content with Yamamoto’s start is completely understandable, as this Dodgers team should be winning most—if not all—of the games in which they limit their opponents to just one run. The Dodgers’ offense only managed five hits during Monday’s game, and it seems their offensive struggles have returned following their 31-run weekend against the Los Angeles Angels.
How Has Yoshinobu Yamamoto Pitched This Season?
Despite his poor run of form over the past few weeks, Yamamoto still has pretty good numbers on the season. He has a 3.32 ERA, and currently leads the Dodgers with 57 innings pitched and 56 strikeouts—though the strikeouts leader may change when Shohei Ohtani makes his start against the Padres on Wednesday.
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May 18, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto (18) throws a pitch during the second inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Denis Poroy-Imagn Images
He has avoided issuing walks this season, and ranks in the top 10% of MLB with a 5.4% walk rate, well above the league average of 9.4%.
The right-hander is also generating plenty of swing and miss, getting batters to whiff at a 30.1% clip.
Yamamoto will look to continue improving following his difficult run of games, and has a week to rest due to the restoration of the Dodgers’ six-man rotation after they acquired Eric Lauer from the Toronto Blue Jays. His next appearance will likely come at home against the Colorado Rockies next week.
What did you think of Yamamoto’s start Monday?
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