GLENDALE, Ariz. -- He got the final outs of the Dodgers' successful title defense, and he'll be the first to take the ball as the team opens its bid for a three-peat.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto will start on Opening Day for the second straight year, manager Dave Roberts announced on Monday. The Dodgers' regular-season slate begins on March 26, when they'll raise the banner commemorating their 2025 championship before first pitch against the D-backs at 5:30 p.m. PT.
Last year, Yamamoto made his first career Opening Day start against the Cubs on home soil at Tokyo Dome. This will be his first at Dodger Stadium.
"It is a pretty easy decision, considering that it’s an honor to be the Opening Day starter," Roberts said. "He started for us last year on the road. But for him to get that start on Opening Day at home, I think it’s going to be special."
Anticipation is high for Yamamoto entering his third big league season. The 27-year-old right-hander emerged as the Dodgers' ace in 2025, when he was the only member of the rotation who did not miss a start. He went 12-8 with a 2.49 ERA in 30 starts, finishing third in the NL Cy Young Award voting behind unanimous winner Paul Skenes and runner-up Cristopher Sánchez.
But it was in the postseason that Yamamoto really established himself as a burgeoning Dodgers legend -- in just two years with the team. He tossed consecutive complete games in NL Championship Series Game 2 and World Series Game 2, becoming the first pitcher to go the distance in back-to-back postseason games since the D-backs' Curt Schilling in 2001, and the first Dodger since Orel Hershiser in 1988.
Two days after his World Series complete game, Yamamoto warmed up as Game 3 stretched into the late hours of the night. He would have pitched the 19th inning, but Freddie Freeman walked off the Blue Jays in the 18th. Yamamoto did end up pitching on short rest in the Fall Classic: After tossing six innings on 96 pitches in Game 6, he pitched the final 2 2/3 innings of Game 7 the following day.
Yamamoto was the winning pitcher in three of the Dodgers' four World Series victories, and fittingly, he earned series MVP honors.
This spring, Yamamoto spent weeks away from Dodgers camp while trying to defend another title with Samurai Japan in the World Baseball Classic. He and his squad were unsuccessful this time around, falling to Venezuela in the quarterfinal on Saturday, marking the first time since Game 6 of the 2021 Japan Series that Yamamoto's team lost an elimination game that he started on the mound.
Yamamoto held opponents to two runs, both earned, in 6 2/3 innings (2.70 ERA) in two starts against Chinese Taipei and Venezuela in the Classic. Yamamoto was not back at Camelback Ranch as of Monday, but Roberts expects him to make one final Cactus League start -- which would likely be on Friday night vs. the Padres -- to tune up for his Opening Day nod.
Last postseason, Yamamoto memorably declared, "Losing isn't an option." The statement resonated with the team and became somewhat of a mantra during the championship run. It's fitting, because the Dodgers always like their chances when their ace is on the mound. As they begin their quest for three titles in a row, they'll look to Yamamoto to set the tone from the start.