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There's no two ways about it: Yoshinobu Yamamoto did not have his best stuff in the Los Angeles Dodgers' first of three against the Los Angeles Angels.
Having his first pushed back a day to provide some additional rest following a grueling start to the season, Yamamoto didn't look like the ace who was earning Cy Young consideration earlier in the year, allowing two runs in the first before falling apart in his fifth and final inning.
Allowing six runs in 4.2 innings to go with five walks and six Ks, Yamamoto made the wrong kind of personal records in his rough outing for the Dodgers, as shared by Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic.
“Yoshinobu Yamamoto has allowed a career-high six earned runs tonight. Still in the fifth,” Ardaya wrote. “And Yamamoto just matched a career-high with his fifth walk to end his night. 6-0 Angels.”
Now, to Yamamoto's credit, his first-inning issues were as much about what was being called from behind the bag than where he was placing the ball, as on multiple occasions, the $300 million pitcher had a beautiful strike called otherwise for one reason or another. Still, the Dodgers can't exactly say they gave Yamamoto everything he needed to succeed either, as he didn't get a single run of support from an offense that just came alive in a major way over the weekend against the first-place Toronto Blue Jays.
Do the Angels just have something on the Dodgers, having swept the Freeway Series when it came to Elysian Park back in May? Or are the Dodgers just in one of those stretches where they can't consistently dominate for one reason or another? Either way, when LA really needed a momentum-grabbing win before their series against the San Diego Padres, they dropped the ball in Game 1, making their next two contests in Anaheim all the more important.
