Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitches like Dodgers’ ace in World Series debut
LOS ANGELES — That’s what the Dodgers expected for $325 million.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who signed the largest contract for a pitcher in major league history last year, pitched like an ace in his World Series debut.
The right-hander gave up one hit – a solo homer – in 6⅓ innings on Saturday night, leading the Dodgers to a 4-2 victory over the New York Yankees in Game 2 of the World Series.
Yamamoto walked off the mound to a standing ovation in the seventh inning.
“Yamamoto, he was made for those moments,” Dodgers outfielder Teoscar Hernandez said. “He was doing it in Japan before he got here, and as soon as he got here, he was doing it here. We trust in him. Earlier today I told him it’s going to be a good night for him, and he did. He gave us a chance to score some runs. He put some zeros on the board, and we won the game.”
Although the Dodgers seemed to be nursing Yamamoto carefully though most of September and October – following a three-month stint on the injured list – he was at peak form on Saturday.
“I was able to throw a strike when I wanted,” Yamamoto said through his interpreter. “And I was able to focus on one hitter at a time.”
Yamamoto’s fastball averaged 95.6 mph, just a tick above his regular season average. He had the Yankees flailing at his splitter and slider. Yamamoto had four strikeouts, two of them against Yankees superstar Aaron Judge.
Judge is 1 for 9 with six strikeouts in the first two games of the series.
“Yoshi was really, really good today,” Dodgers utilityman Tommy Edman said. “He was on the attack. Watching from center field, it was fun to see how much his stuff was moving. Really did a good job keeping them off balance and just did a great job of pitching. That’s a good lineup, and to give up only one hit over 6⅓, it was really impressive to watch. He’s one of the best pitchers in the game.”
Yamamoto was a little shaky at the outset, starting the game with a walk of Gleyber Torres. He then needed 14 pitches to get through Juan Soto and Judge, but he retired them both.
With Torres at second, Yamamoto then got away with a first pitch belt-high fastball to Giancarlo Stanton. It was the kind of pitch that Stanton could pound 450 feet, but he popped this one up, ending the inning.
After that, Yamamoto was much sharper. He gave up a solo homer to Soto on a 95 mph fastball over the inner half in the third inning, but he then retired the final 11 hitters he faced.
“I thought the first few innings we took a lot of good at-bats against him, made him work some longer at-bats,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “Then kind of once he got a little bit of that lead, he kind of got into a rhythm, really did a good job of attacking at strike one. It was hard to be patient with him when he was on the attack and getting ahead.
“I thought his stuff was good. I thought his fastball was good, slowing us down with a little curveball, and then the slider and the split of course. I thought he was on his game.”
It was Yamamoto’s best game since – coincidentally – a June 7 start at Yankee Stadium. He pitched seven scoreless innings in that game. Shortly after, though, Yamamoto got hurt, missing nearly three months. Once he returned, the Dodgers nursed him back slowly, keeping him under 80 pitches in each of his final four regular season starts.
His first postseason outing, against the Padres, went poorly. He allowed five runs in three innings.
Since then, though, he’s has a 1.72 ERA in three starts, one apiece against the Padres, New York Mets and Yankees. The Dodgers have won each of those three starts.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts seems to now be confident that Yamamoto no longer needs the short leash he had at the start of the postseason, evident by him working into the seventh for the first time since that game at Yankee Stadium.
“When I came off the IL, I was pretty much close to where I was before,” Yamamoto said. “And then after that as I was pitching in games, I think I got better.”