Yamamoto set for last start of first half with All-Star availability still TBD

LOS ANGELES -- Even with Yoshinobu Yamamoto's high standards for himself, the 27-year-old ace has to be pleased with his first-half performance.

As Yamamoto prepares to take the mound Saturday night against the D-backs at 6:10 p.m. PT on SportsNet LA and MLB.TV, he sits at 9-5 with a 2.49 ERA, 100 strikeouts and a 0.88 WHIP in 104 2/3 innings. Thirteen of his 16 outings have been quality starts.

Yamamoto’s final first-half foe is a familiar one. In seven career regular-season starts against Arizona, Yamamoto is 4-1 with a 2.08 ERA and 49 strikeouts in 43 1/3 innings. He held them to two runs across six innings in an 8-2 Dodgers win on Opening Day.

With teammate Shohei Ohtani being scratched from his start on Friday, manager Dave Roberts said the Dodgers will rely on Yamamoto to work deep into his outing after Friday’s unplanned bullpen game.

“The good thing is we’ve got Yamamoto going tomorrow, so [we] feel good about him taking on a lot of the game,” Roberts said Friday.

How deep Yamamoto works into Saturday’s contest may also determine whether the right-hander will be available for Tuesday’s All-Star Game in Philadelphia.

Roberts, who is managing the National League squad, was noncommittal earlier this week when asked if his ace would be an option for the NL, given the short turnaround from Saturday to Tuesday.

"That’s a good one. I don’t know that answer,” Roberts said Wednesday. “For me, that’s a read-and-react. Let’s just get him through his start and we’ll see how he feels. And also, if he really wants it and it makes sense. Then we’ll have that conversation."

Of course, Yamamoto is no stranger to pitching on short rest.

The 2025 World Series MVP etched himself into baseball lore with a Herculean effort last October, throwing 2 2/3 innings of scoreless relief in the Dodgers’ thrilling 5-4, 11-inning triumph in Game 7 of the World Series -- on zero days’ rest.

Yamamoto had pitched six innings the night prior in a Game 6 win. He had also warmed in the bullpen during Game 3 after throwing a complete game two days before in Game 2.

Of course, the Midsummer Classic is not quite as high-stakes as the World Series. But should Roberts call Yamamoto’s name on Tuesday, even for a brief appearance, it would be hard to imagine the ace turning him down.