3 days ago
Dodgers' Yoshinobu Yamamoto Reveals Reason for Brutal Outing Against Yankees
Dodgers' Yoshinobu Yamamoto Reveals Reason for Brutal Outing Against Yankees originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
In his last start on Sunday afternoon, Los Angeles Dodgers' ace, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, tossed what was his shortest start of the 2025 season against the New York Yankees.
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Yamamoto was chased after just 3.2 innings of work by the same Yankees' offense that only accumulated one run off Landon Knack the day prior. It was the first outing of the year that saw Yamamoto exit before throwing at least five innings.
On the day, Yamamoto surrendered a season-high seven hits, issued three walks, and gave up a home run to Ben Rice, contributing four runs to the Yankees' 7-to-3 victory. In addition, Yamamoto would record a season-low two strikeouts.
The 26-year-old righty has been extraordinarily dominant, blanking the Philadelphia Phillies (one unearned run), Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers, Atlanta Braves, and Arizona Diamondbacks this season in starts that lasted at least six innings. Yamamoto's ERA climbed to a respectable 2.39 after Sunday's start. In a postgame interview, Yamamoto had this to say on his performance:
Jun 1, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto (18) walks to the dugout prior to the game against the New York Yankees at Dodger Hui-Imagn Images
'From the beginning of the game, I was not able to control my pitches,' he said through his translator. 'And then, during the game, I was trying to make adjustments, but I wasn't able do that.'
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When asked about the command of his splitter, Yamamoto clarified that it wasn't just his splitter that underperformed. 'Splitter command — my fastball, and the curveball; overall, my command wasn't there.'
Catcher Will Smith echoed this sentiment. 'Just a little bit off,' he said. 'Execution wasn't Yoshi-like. Not getting strike one, not putting guys away with two strikes. It happens. And I expect him to come into his next start dialed in like normal.'
In the Dodgers' Game 2 victory of the 2024 World Series, Yamamoto was charged with only one run over 6.1 innings in what was his last bout against the Yankees. With several significant injuries to the Dodgers' pitching staff, Yamamoto's presence on the mound will play an even larger role for the team this year as they look to achieve a repeat season.
Related: Insider Slanders Yankees After Losing Series to Dodgers in Ugly Fashion
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 2, 2025, where it first appeared.
