Yoshinobu Yamamoto is finding his groove! Los Angeles Dodgers fans were a little bit (or extremely worried, depending on who you ask) after his terrible Spring Training and his first-ever start in the regular season. However, as the season progressed, the Japanese sensation has figured out how to deal with MLB-caliber hitters. Now, Yamamoto is one of the best in the league when it comes to shutting down opposing offenses.
Yamamot's masterpiece was arguably his most recent game. The Dodgers were up against the dreaded New York Yankees and their incredible hitting lineup. Sure, Juan Soto was out with an injury, but that lineup is still full of elite hitters. Oh, and Aaron Judge is there too. Despite the pressure, Yamamoto stepped up to the plate and threw SEVEN scoreless innings, striking out seven and only allowing two walks and two hits.
After the game, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts had nothing but praise for his pitcher. Roberts went so far to say that this was Yamamoto's best performance in a Dodgers jersey so far, per Gary Phillips. Considering the talent he was up against, that's certainly a compliment.
““A guy like that who is just such a great competitor, who has pitched in big ballgames his entire adult life, I knew he wasn’t gonna run from this moment,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said before his team’s 2-1, 11-inning, series-opening win. “It was good to see it though. I was happy for him. His best outing as a Dodger. You could just see it. He felt it. He knew we needed it, and it brought out the best in him, so I can’t say enough about his effort tonight.””
The Dodgers struggled to capitalize on Yamamoto's performance early on, as their hitters were unable to widen the gap against the Yankees' pitching. Eventually, though, LA found their stride in extra innings, winning the series opener 2-1 after eleven innings.
Yamamoto's big league career off to hot start
There was a lot of concern around the Dodgers' signing of Yoshinobu Yamamoto at the start of the season. At first, the Japanese sensation struggled. He gave up a lot of hits and runs in Spring Training, but fans hoped that he would figure it out by the start of the season. That wasn't the case: Yamamoto gave up five runs and lasted just ONE inning against the San Diego Padres in his MLB debut.
Since then, though, Yamamoto's performance has stabilized over the course of the season. After the shutout in the Bronx, Yamamoto's era is down to a cool 3.00. In today's MLB, that's quite the performance. He doesn't have a crazy fastball like his teammate Shohei Ohtani, but pinpoint accuracy and a variety of pitches make him a fearsome pitcher.
With Yamamoto's emergence, the Dodgers have three excellent pitchers in him, Tyler Glasnow, and another surprise entrant in Gavin Stone. They still have more in the tank, too: Walker Buehler is still finding his groove after missing time due to injury. Bobby Miller is on the injured list. So is Clayton Kershaw. Los Angeles' strength this season has been their pitching.
It's high time that the Dodgers' hitting keeps in stride with their pitcher. They've been out of sync so far this season, unfortunately. When LA's hitting comes back… this team will be ridiculously dangerous to deal with.
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