- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,144,699
- Reaction score
- 59
You must be registered for see images attach
A calamitous first inning sunk the Los Angeles Dodgers in Tuesday’s series opener, and both manager Dave Roberts and starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto expressed discontent with the latter’s outing.
Yamamoto threw 26 pitches in the first inning, during which the Giants scored three runs. An overthrow to first and an outfield collision between Alex Call and Teoscar Hernandez heavily contributed to the Giants’ three-spot in the first frame. Despite the defensive mistakes, though, Yamamoto shouldered the blame.
“I think today’s game was about the first inning,” Yamamoto said. “I wanted to minimize the damage but I was not able to do that.”
He still managed to piece himself together for a solid outing, though, pitching seven innings and only allowing the three runs. Roberts admitted Yamamoto wasn’t at his best early, but still commended him for being able to see the rest of the evening out.
“I thought early on he wasn’t sharp,” Roberts said. “The curveball, I thought the execution wasn’t really good. We could have probably made a couple plays behind him, but for him to manage the pitch count, give up three runs and then go seven innings and give us a chance to win the game, says a lot about him.”
Yamamoto has now lasted seven or more innings in his last two starts, and despite the loss, there’s still plenty of good to take away from his performance. The right-hander tied his season high with seven strikeouts in the game, and retired the side in order in each of the three innings following the first.
You must be registered for see images attach
Oct 1, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts (30) relieves starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto (18) in the seventh inning against the Cincinnati Reds during game two of the Wildcard round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
How is Yoshinobu Yamamoto Playing in 2026?
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Yamamoto has been among the best pitchers in MLB since the beginning of the season.
He has lasted six innings in all five of his starts this season, and has just a 2.48 ERA through 32.2 innings pitched. Despite allowing eight baserunners in his start Tuesday and allowing a season-high two walks, Yamamoto’s WHIP still sits comfortably below 1.000 at 0.89.
Per FanGraphs’ projections, Yamamoto is still well in contention for the Cy Young award this season, as he has accrued 12.1 Cy Young Points this season—good for eighth in the National League.
If Yamamoto can continue to serve as a reliable arm for the Dodgers throughout the season—just as he has so far—he’s sure to find himself in the conversation come the end of the year.
Yamamoto’s next start is likely to be Sunday, the Dodgers’ series finale against the Cubs. He’ll hope to get back on the right track during the outing, but LA can’t look that far ahead yet.
After dropping into a tie for first in the NL West with their loss, the Dodgers need to secure a win in their second game of the series against the San Francisco Giants, which comes Wednesday at 6:45 p.m. PT.
What did you think of Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s outing yesterday?
Continue reading...
