Dodgers News: Yoshinobu Yamamoto May Have Specific Reason For Game 1 Struggles vs Padres

Maren Angus-Coombs | Oct 6, 2024

Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

The postseason drama began earlier than anticipated for Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts and his starting rotation. On Thursday, president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said rookie Yoshinobu Yamamoto, not veteran Jack Flaherty, would get the ball in the National League Division Series opener against the San Diego Padres on Saturday.

When Yamamoto gave up a walk and three hits, including a three-run homer by Manny Machado, it was tempting to assume that the pressure had overwhelmed the 26-year-old right-hander.

Roberts disagreed.

“There are some things that I think we’re going to dig into because I think at second base they had some things with his glove [that were] giving away some pitches,” Roberts said. “We’re going to clean that up. That’s part of baseball. So it’s on us to kind of clean that up and not give away what pitch he’s going to throw.”

"When he threw his fastball, his body seemed to be on-time a little bit more than when he threw his off-speed."

Was Yoshinobu Yamamoto tipping his pitches in Game 1?@theajramos on what he saw:#Dodgers | #LetsGoDodgers

🔗 https://t.co/fGPbvbjGlC pic.twitter.com/Zla4MWbrry

— MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (@MLBNetworkRadio) October 6, 2024

Yamamoto was only able to keep the Padres off the scoreboard in the second inning but he was under constant stress with traffic on the basepaths.

In the third inning, the Padres strung together doubles from Fernando Tatis Jr. and Xander Bogaerts, along with a walk to Jackson Merrill, bringing in two runs to reclaim a 5-3 lead.

By the fourth inning, Yamamoto’s day on the mound was over.

According to Newsweek's JP Hoornstra, Yamamoto said he tried to use the extra intensity of his first playoff game to his advantage. He did not specifically say after the game that he was tipping pitches.

Dave Roberts said Yoshinobu Yamamoto was tipping his pitches.

— J.P. Hoornstra (@jphoornstra) October 6, 2024

"I did feel passion from the crowd," he said via an interpreter. "I wanted to utilize that, to turn that into a positive for me. But unfortunately I was not able to do that."

The Padres have had a lot of success against Yamamoto this season. When they faced him in his MLB debut during the Seoul Series in South Korea on March 21, they scored five runs in his lone inning of work.

If Yamamoto faces the Padres again this year, it would be in Game 5. Roberts said he is "in play" for that potential assignment if the series goes that far.

Yamamoto joined the Dodgers last December on a 12-year, $325 million deal after departing from Japan.

A shoulder injury sidelined him for a substantial portion of the season, limiting him to just 18 starts.

Despite the setback, he performed well when healthy, finishing his rookie year with a 7-2 record, a 3.00 ERA, and 105 strikeouts over 90 innings.