Yoshinobu Yamamoto has elevated his game to another level in the postseason as part of a historically dominant Los Angeles Dodgers starting rotation that includes Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow and Shohei Ohtani.
In three starts between the Wild Card round, National League Division Series and Championship Series, Yamamoto has pitched to a 1.83 ERA and 0.86 WHIP with 18 strikeouts against four walks over 19.2 innings.
Yamamoto put together his most impressive start yet in Game 2 of the NLCS when he threw a complete game against the Milwaukee Brewers.
Yamamoto made tremendous strides in his second season with the Dodgers and Max Muncy believes the best is still to come.
“I think it’s the most comfortable I’ve seen him, for sure,” Muncy said of Yamamoto. “The more I’ve gotten to know him, the more I still think there’s more in there. And I think he thinks there’s more in there too, which is really hard to say because he’s been incredible this year.
“He’s been our most reliable guy. Going all the way back to last year in the postseason, he’s been our guy through the postseason. And he looks really, really good. But like I said, to me, it’s the most comfortable I’ve seen him. You make that transition. You come to a new country, a new baseball league, it’s really, really tough.
“I think it took him a little bit last year to find that groove. The way he showed up in spring this year, you could definitely tell he was a lot more comfortable being around the guys, just how everything works, the season. And this year he’s taken it to a whole other level.
“Despite that, I think there’s more in there for him. He’s just incredible the way he goes about pitching. The way he goes about pitching, goes about attacking hitters, the number of pitches he can throw, the number of pitches he can command, it’s really, really impressive.”
Yamamoto enjoyed a solid rookie season with the Dodgers in 2024, but it wasn’t always smooth sailing as he had to adjust to a new league and missed nearly three months due to a right shoulder injury.
Yamamoto also endured a rough postseason debut against the San Diego Padres before bouncing back to help the Dodgers win the World Series.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts previously went on the record of saying that Yamamoto has shown the most growth of any player since the 2024 season.
When is Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s next start?
Yamamoto is scheduled to make his next start on Saturday in Game 2 of the World Series against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.
It comes in a pivotal matchup as the Dodgers were shellacked in Game 1 and are looking to avoid a 2-0 deficit before the World Series shifts to Dodger Stadium.
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