“After my first appearance in Seoul…”
Yoshinobu Yamamoto (LA Dodgers) was hit consecutively in the final game of the spring camp and the Seoul Series, deepening the LA Dodgers’ concerns. Although he reigned as Japan’s best pitcher for three to four years, he was constantly overworked by Major League hitters.
After losing one game and an 8.38 ERA in three exhibition games, he collapsed on March 21 (Korea time) with four hits, two strikeouts, and five runs in one inning in the final game of the official opening two consecutive games against the San Diego Padres. At the time, manager Dave Roberts and Yamamoto dismissed it as a command issue and predicted that they will eventually recover to their original form.
As soon as Roberts returned to the U.S., he changed the starting order of Yamamoto and Bobby Miller. While easing the burden on Yamamoto, he was considerate enough to prepare himself. Miller, who was a sensation last year, had already completed some verification in the Major League.
Yamamoto, who returned as the third starter, rebounded with two hits, five strikeouts and no runs in five innings against the St. Louis Cardinals on March 31. And against the Chicago Cubs on the 7th, he pitched five innings of three hits, eight strikeouts, two walks and no runs. He pitched the same five scoreless innings, but the game on the 7th was even fiercer. This is because the combination of fastball and splitter in the mid-150km range and Yamamoto’s unique special movement began to come to life. One win, one loss and a 4.09 ERA in three games.
Thanks to the rebound in the past two games, Yamamoto is still considered the top candidate for the NL Rookie of the Year award. He was recently recognized as the top candidate for the Rookie of the Year award, receiving the most number of first place votes in a mock poll by MLB.com . In this vote, Lee Jung-hoo came in fourth.
Yamamoto will make his fourth start since his debut at a home game against the San Diego Padres on Wednesday. It is a golden opportunity to avenge his poor performance in the Seoul Series. If he plays well here, he will be able to judge that he is completely back on track.
On the 11th, mlbcom selected improvements for each team this season, and the Dodgers selected the recruitment of Yamamoto. Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow’s performance will be very important for the Dodgers, as Shohei Ohtani will not do double swords this year.
MLBCOM said, “After his first appearance in Seoul, it was easy to wonder if Yamamoto’s 13-year, $325 million contract with the Dodgers last winter was worth it.” In his first appearance in the game against San Diego, Yamamoto gave up five runs and recorded only three outs.