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Another strong outing by Yoshinobu Yamamoto in Dodgers' victory

Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times on

Published in Baseball

Yoshinobu Yamamoto is starting to give the Dodgers that feeling.

The one where, every time he takes the ball, the team will get a quality start. Where, whenever he ascends the mound, a string of zeros will follow. Where, most importantly, the days he pitches means the Dodgers should be positioned to win.

“You start to have that feeling like, ‘It’s Yamamoto’s day,’” manager Dave Roberts explained with a smile before first pitch. “This is win day.”

Tuesday was yet another of those days, with Yamamoto dazzling in an eight-inning, two-run start to guide the Dodgers past the Miami Marlins, 8-2.

The game was Yamamoto’s third-straight quality start, lowering his ERA to 2.79. It was his longest outing yet in the majors, making him just the second starter for the Dodgers (25-13) this year to pitch past the seventh inning.

Staked to a big early lead, Yamamoto went on the attack against the Marlins (10-28), throwing his first 19 pitches for strikes and 73 of 97 overall.

 

He also mixed in his splitter and trademark curveball to effect, limiting Miami’s paper-weight lineup — the Marlins ranked 20th in the majors in scoring entering the night — to as many hits as strikeouts (five each).

“He is starting to become that guy,” Roberts said pregame, reiterating Yamamoto’s ever-growing status as a star pitcher and, along with Tyler Glasnow, co-ace of the Dodgers rotation. “But again, [we want him to] just go out there and keep doing what he’s been doing. Because it’s been really good.”

The start of Yamamoto’s rookie season was decidedly not good, particularly not after the Dodgers signed him to a record-breaking $325-million contract this offseason.

In his MLB debut in South Korea in late March, he gave up five runs in one inning. While he got better once the team returned state-side, he still had a 4.50 ERA through his first five outings.

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