SAN DIEGO -- Two things have given Yoshinobu Yamamoto trouble this year: the first inning, and the long ball.
Both issues reared their head when Padres designated hitter Miguel Andujar took Yamamoto deep for a one-out blast in the first inning of Monday night's series opener in San Diego, but that ended up being the lone run Yamamoto allowed across seven strong innings.
In the end, Yamamoto was outduelled by Padres starter Michael King as another recurring issue arose: Yamamoto received no run support, and the Dodgers fell, 1-0, snapping their season-high five-game winning streak. By taking the first contest between the two NL West rivals, San Diego moved a half-game ahead of L.A. in the division -- which is months away from being decided.
"It was just one of those things. It was a pitchers’ duel," manager Dave Roberts said. "Yosh made one mistake to the second hitter, [he] hits a homer and that’s all they could muster up. Unfortunately, we just couldn’t put anything together."
Yamamoto struck out eight, walked two and scattered three hits, a much-needed bounceback outing after the 27-year-old right-hander was charged with a season-high five runs in his previous start against the Giants.
Opposite Yamamoto, King held the Dodgers scoreless through seven innings. Two relievers finished off the Dodgers' second shutout loss of the season, although L.A. missed chances to get on the board. Jason Adam stranded runners on the corners in the eighth, and Mason Miller couldn't find the strike zone to open the ninth, issuing back-to-back walks before converting the save.
The loss dropped Yamamoto's record to 3-4, which doesn't reflect how well he's pitched for most of the season. While he was glad to have found his rhythm by the end of his start, he was displeased with the way he began it.
Seven of the 21 earned runs Yamamoto has allowed in nine starts this year have come in the first inning.
"Settling into the game, that's one [thing] that's been a bit of a challenge to me," Yamamoto said through interpreter Yoshihiro Sonoda. "However, I started feeling better every time I [went] up there. … In my mind, I know how to fix it."
Yamamoto has surrendered nine homers in 57 innings after holding opponents to 14 homers in 173 2/3 innings last season. He has not noticed a common thread that might explain the uptick in long balls, but several have simply been mistake pitches, as was the case with the 2-2 splitter that Andujar deposited into the left-field bleachers.
"I was trying to get it down," Yamamoto said. "That was my mistake."
Andujar's solo shot was also the fifth home run Yamamoto has allowed after getting to two strikes this year. He is not alone in that regard, as the Dodgers have given up 20 two-strike homers this year, which is tied for the second most in the Majors behind the Nationals. L.A. surrendered 56 two-strike homers last season.
Aside from the mistake, Yamamoto was exceptional, keeping the Padres off balance for the remainder of his outing. King was better.
"You're trying to cover, realistically, 30 inches, because you have ball-to-strike pitches, you got backdoor sliders that are starting as balls coming back, you got front-door sinkers for lefties, so it's not just the whole plate you're worried about," Freddie Freeman said. "You're going to worry about a whole lot of different things. … [King] had all of it working tonight."
Yamamoto opened this season as a model of consistency for the Dodgers, tossing five straight quality starts. But he faltered some in the three starts that followed, allowing 12 runs (11 earned) in 17 1/3 innings.
On a night that the Dodgers got their first look at the team that could be their biggest challenger in the division, Yamamoto righted the ship. L.A. will look to emulate his performance when the three-game set at Petco Park continues on Tuesday.
"The last few haven’t been great, per his standards," Roberts said. "But tonight, I thought, was a really good one. The win-loss, you’ve got to score runs for him, too. It was good to see him get back after that kind of shaky first inning tonight and pitch the way he did."