Dodgers' Yoshinobu Yamamoto looks impressive in spring training debut
One day after the Dodgers were able to watch Japanese sensation Shohei Ohtani make his spring debut, Yoshinobu Yamamoto made his debut on the mound and he didn’t disappoint.
The hype and anticipation surrounding Yamamoto was as advertised. In his first Cactus League start against the Rangers at Surprise Stadium, the Dodgers new ace tossed two scoreless innings, striking out three and allowed just one hit.
Yamamoto threw just 19 pitches, 16 for strikes, while showing off his array of pitches within his arsenal.
“There’s a part of me that’s relieved,” Yamamoto said through an interpreter. “From here, there will be more innings and I’m wondering how that will go. But as far as today’s game was concerned, I thought it went well.”
He opened the game facing the Rangers Marcus Semien and struck him out on a 96 mph heater. The only hit he surrendered came off the bat from rookie Evan Carter. That hit was quickly erased after rookie Wyatt Langford rolled over to Max Muncy for an inning ending double play.
Yamamoto needed just 11 pitches in the first inning, throwing just two balls in the process.
In the second inning, the right faced Nathaniel Lowe, opening the at-bat with a 94 mph fastball. Two pitches later, Yamamoto struck out Lowe with a nasty splitter on an ugly swing.
Jonah Heim would fly out on the first pitch he saw from Yamamoto and then he strike out Leody Tavares swinging on a 91 mph splitter.
“It’s an exhibition game, so I was able to pitch with a good kind of nervousness,” Yamamoto said. “I made a concerted effort to calm down.”
Yamamoto was greeted by a standing ovation from Dodgers fans in attendance. He was also cheered by Shohei Ohtani in the dugout, who didn’t play but made the trip to watch him pitch.
The 25-year-old has been Japan's most dominant pitcher over the last several seasons, with a 16-6 record and a 1.21 ERA for the Orix Buffaloes in 2023. He has a career 1.72 ERA in Japan in nearly 1,000 innings. His six-pitch repertoire includes a dependable splitter, an effective four-seam fastball and a vicious curveball. He signed a massive 12-year, $325 million deal with the Dodgers this offseason, the largest for a pitcher in history.
