HOUSTON -- Yoshinobu Yamamoto made his first career appearance at Daikin Park on Monday, navigating a high-powered Houston Astros offense to provide the Dodgers with much-needed stability in an 8-3 Dodgers win in the opening game of the series.
Facing an Astros lineup that is second in the American League in OPS (.782), Yamamoto overcame a 33-pitch first inning to finish six frames of work. He exited the night having allowed three runs on five hits, striking out eight and walking only one on 95 pitches.
The outing started with some trouble in the bottom of the first. After giving up a single to Yordan Alvarez and a walk to Isaac Paredes, an RBI single to Jose Altuve and a wild pitch gave Houston an early 2-1 lead. Yamamoto avoided more damage by getting Brice Matthews to fly out, then proceeded to find a steady rhythm.
Following that opening frame, Yamamoto retired nine of the next 10 batters he faced. His command of the strike zone got sharper as the night went on, highlighted by a nine-pitch fourth inning.
The performance was a big help for a Dodgers bullpen that has averaged more than four innings of work per game over the last 14 days. Entering the night with a 2.87 ERA, Yamamoto's ability to pitch deep into the game against one of the league's most disciplined offenses was a main goal for a staff currently dealing with several injuries in the rotation.
Yamamoto’s velocity stayed consistent throughout the start, with his four-seam fastball touching 97.7 mph. His splitter was especially effective as a put-away pitch, leading to half of his eight strikeouts, including a punchout of Carlos Correa in the third inning.
The only other major hit after the first inning came in the bottom of the fifth, when Zach Cole hit a solo home run to right field on a 90.1 mph cutter. Yamamoto responded by striking out Christian Vázquez and Correa to end the inning, then returned for a scoreless sixth to finish his night.
Yamamoto’s debut against the Astros' veteran core provided a key data point for the Dodgers as they work through a busy May schedule. By giving the relief corps a rest and showing his stuff translates against the AL's top hitters, he gave the team exactly what they needed while the rotation waits to get back to full health.