Yamamoto looks to follow up consecutive gems, avoid the long ball vs. Phils
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LOS ANGELES -- Last weekend, Yoshinobu Yamamoto tossed a seven-inning gem in his first time pitching against the Brewers since dominating them in the NL Championship Series. On Sunday, Yamamoto will take on the only team that was able to beat him last postseason: the Phillies.
Yamamoto is set to make his 11th start of the season in the weekend finale at Dodger Stadium, where he'll face Philadelphia for the first time since giving up three runs across four-plus innings in Game 3 of the NL Division Series.
After a brief but frustrating stretch in which he gave up 15 runs (four earned) across four starts (24 1/3 innings), Yamamoto appears to have turned a corner. He's coming off back-to-back outings of seven innings and one earned run allowed against the Padres and Brewers.
In some ways, Yamamoto has not quite hit his stride, but he's still been dependable as the leader of the Dodgers' rotation, going 4-4 with a 3.09 ERA and 59 strikeouts against 13 walks. He has pitched at least six innings in all but one of his 10 starts, leading L.A. with 64 innings.
Yamamoto has had two primary issues this year: the long ball and the first inning. He's surrendered nine home runs -- just five fewer than last year -- and seven of the 22 earned runs he's allowed have come in the opening frame.
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In his previous start in Milwaukee, Yamamoto was able to pitch a scoreless first inning and keep the ball in the yard. The Phillies should present a challenge from the get-go with leadoff hitter Kyle Schwarber, who leads the Majors with 22 home runs -- and memorably took Yamamoto deep for a Statcast-projected 455-foot shot in the NLDS that was commemorated with a plaque.