Yamamoto on preparing for year 2 after first cactus start

Yoshinobu Yamamoto struggled in his first spring training with the Dodgers last year, posting an 8.38 ERA across three starts.

As if his welcoming to Major League Baseball wasn’t rude enough, his disastrous regular season debut saw him struggle to complete a single inning of work, allowing five Padres to score while tossing 43 pitches in the second game of the Seoul series. He would finish the regular season with a 3.00 ERA across 90 innings, but once again struggled against San Diego in his postseason debut.

The rude greetings came and went, and Yamamoto managed to rebound quickly from his early obstacles in his first season with the Dodgers.

The 26-year-old was tasked with kicking off spring training this year, and he impressed across 1 ²⁄₃ scoreless innings, allowing three hits, no walks, and striking out two against the Chicago Cubs.

Yamamoto discussed what he learned over the course of his first big league season, and how that has helped him prepare for year two with the Dodgers, per Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times.

“Having one full season under my belt, this year I know how to prepare myself based on what I experienced last year,” Yamamoto said through interpreter Yoshihiro Sonoda. “And also, with Doc and the coaches, I know how to communicate with everybody,” Yamamoto added. “I think the communication is better than last year.”

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Shohei Ohtani has been gearing up for his mound debut with the Dodgers this season, but this time, he’s added a windup to his pitching delivery rather than pitching from the stretch as he did throughout his time with the Angels.

Ohtani discussed the adoption of his windup, noting how it’s a part of him growing as a player, per Sonja Chen of MLB.com.

“Traditionally, I’ve been throwing from the stretch a lot,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton, “but as part of being a baseball player, I do want to explore different options, different avenues, to see if I could grow as a player. I do that on the pitching side as well as as a hitter.”

After being hit in the head by a line drive off the bat off Michael Busch in the top of the third inning, Bobby Miller was able to walk off the field under his own power and was later placed on concussion protocol. Miller took to his Twitter to provide an update on how he’s feeling, stating how he “can’t wait to get back on the mound.”