SAN DIEGO -- The last time Yoshinobu Yamamoto took the mound at Petco Park, he made one mistake pitch two batters into his start. While he went on to toss seven innings of one-run ball, the Dodgers lost the game, and that seemed to weigh on Yamamoto more heavily than his final line.
That May 18 outing was the beginning of a strong stretch for Yamamoto, who enters Saturday night's start against the Padres having gone 4-2 with a 1.51 ERA (seven earned runs in 41 2/3 innings) in his previous six appearances.
In that span, Yamamoto tied Mark Buehrle for the second-longest streak of consecutive batters retired in Major League history (45 in a row between June 6 and June 13). He authored a deep no-hit bid against the White Sox on June 13, losing it in the ninth inning on a home run. He struggled with his mechanics in his previous start against the Orioles last Saturday, but still recorded a quality start.
All that to say, Yamamoto has been the ace the Dodgers have needed lately.
In two career starts at Petco Park, Yamamoto has allowed just three earned runs in 13 innings (2.08 ERA). This season, he has actually been better on the road (2.18 ERA in six starts) compared to outings at home (3.04 ERA in eight starts).
Yamamoto will seek to continue those strong trends on Saturday, as his Dodgers look to further extend their already-commanding lead in the National League West over their most competitive division rivals.