LOS ANGELES -- After being the epitome of consistency through his first five starts, Yoshinobu Yamamoto had his first stumble of the 2026 campaign in Monday's series opener against the Marlins.
Yamamoto tossed five quality starts to open the season, but that streak came to an end when he didn't make it into the sixth inning for the first time. He gave up four runs (three earned) on five hits and four walks while striking out four across five innings.
In what ended up being a fitting beginning, Yamamoto's night started with Marlins leadoff hitter Jakob Marsee grinding out a walk on nine pitches. Marsee was quickly erased on a double play, and Yamamoto did not allow another baserunner until the third inning.
But from that point on, Yamamoto had to navigate through plenty of traffic. He stranded runners on second and third with two outs in the third inning, then gave up his first run of the night on an error in the fourth.
It wasn't until the fifth inning that Yamamoto had to pay for the free passes he had been giving up all night. He walked Marsee to open the frame, then got two outs before issuing another walk to Xavier Edwards. That brought him up to a season-high four on the night, and designated hitter Liam Hicks cashed in with a three-run blast into the right-field corner.
Hicks' home run came on a 1-2 splitter. It was the fourth two-strike hit Yamamoto gave up to the Marlins, tied for the fourth most in a single game in his career. Two of them were extra-base hits, tied for the most he's allowed in an outing.
Yamamoto had only thrown 87 pitches (56 strikes) after getting the third out in the fifth, but manager Dave Roberts opted not to send him out for the sixth after the high-stress inning, sending in left-hander Alex Vesia instead.