Yoshinobu Yamamoto had a strong performance for Los Angeles against the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday night in his first game at Dodger Stadium. He didn’t allow any runs and only gave up two hits over five innings, showing improvement from his tough start last week in South Korea.
The 25-year-old pitcher had to deal with a 35-minute rain delay during the game. Yamamoto, who signed a record-breaking $325 million, 12-year contract in December, had a tough time in spring training with an ERA of 8.38.
In his first major league game last week, he struggled, giving up five runs, four hits, and a walk in a high-scoring loss to San Diego.
However, Yamamoto started Saturday’s game strong, striking out the first three batters he faced. He allowed only one hit in the first four innings before the rain delay interrupted play. Despite giving up a double in the fifth inning, he finished his outing by retiring the next batter with a flyout.
Yamamoto threw 68 pitches, with 45 of them being strikes, and his fastball averaged 95.3 mph.
The Dodgers provided Yamamoto with some run support in the fifth inning, with RBI singles from Freddie Freeman and Will Smith. After Yamamoto’s outing, Daniel Hudson took over pitching duties in the sixth inning.
