NEW YORK -- Six days after dominating the Yankees in the Bronx with his first regular-season complete game, Yoshinobu Yamamoto went across town to face the Mets and it was a grind for the Dodgers right-hander at Citi Field. But he still managed to leave the game after six innings with a lead the Dodgers ultimately held on to for a 4-3 win.
Yes, Yamamoto had his 15th quality start of the season, but New York made him throw a lot of pitches in the early going. In fact, Yamamoto threw 52 pitches after three innings, but the Mets didn’t score until the fifth frame when Brett Baty scored New York’s only run against the right-hander on a single by Bo Bichette. Always looking for perfection, Yamamoto was clearly upset, slapping his glove on his leg.
“[The pitch] kind of elevated and went up in the zone too much,” Yamamoto said through interpreter Yoshihiro Sonoda.
By the time the inning ended, Yamamoto had thrown 84 pitches.
“[My stuff] was kind of similar [to the start against the Yankees], but today’s game, I kept wrecking my pitch count,” Yamamoto said. “I was not having a good feel [for the ball] when I was throwing in today’s pregame bullpen. I went into the game with that condition. I tried to make an adjustment. Until the end, I was not able to make the adjustment I needed on time.”
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts had his own opinion about Yamamoto.
“He was good, not great,” the skipper said. “I think that he made pitches when he needed to. But there were some bad walks in there. He wasn’t as efficient. But, again, he is such a good competitor. The fastball command, the split, wasn’t where it has been in the last six weeks.”
Los Angeles scored all four of its runs – two earned – against right-hander Nolan McLean. Kyle Tucker gave the Dodgers their first run of the game with a solo homer in the third inning. It was the first time he has homered in consecutive games since Aug. 22-23, 2025, when he was with the Cubs. Tucker is showing signs of life at the plate. In the last two games, Tucker is 3-for 6 (.500) with two walks as his batting average jumped from .236 to .241.
“I just think the at-bat quality has been really good. It’s getting better,” said Roberts. “Obviously, he put a charge into that home run. He did a nice job last night.”
By the time the third inning ended, the Dodgers added two more runs. Andy Pages grounded into a force out that scored Dalton Rushing, and Pages would later score on a passed ball by catcher Francisco Alvarez.
Pages ended up getting another RBI two innings later, when he knocked a single to right field, scoring Teoscar Hernández.
The Mets pushed two runs across in the eighth to cut L.A.'s lead to one, but Brock Stewart shut the door in the ninth to seal a Dodgers series win. It was Stewart’s third career save, and his first as a member of the Dodgers since June 20, 2017, also against the Mets.