SAN DIEGO -- Yoshinobu Yamamoto's margin for error was razor-thin for the first five innings, during which his offense scored only one run to back him on the mound.
Then the Dodgers' bats exploded for a nine-spot in the top of the sixth inning, and all of a sudden, Yamamoto was in as comfortable a spot as he had been all season.
For the second straight start, Yamamoto did not quite have the best feel for his stuff. He didn't get as much swing-and-miss as he normally does. But the Dodgers always feel like they are in a good position to win when their ace is on the mound, and Saturday night was no exception, as they went on to record a 15-3 victory.
Yamamoto struck out four, walked two and scattered five hits across six innings of two-run ball against the Padres at Petco Park. The 15 runs were by far the most the Dodgers have scored in a Yamamoto start this season.
Compared with his previous outing, when he struggled with his feel for his splitter but still recorded a quality start, Yamamoto was in a better spot. Over the course of Saturday's game, his splitter got better with time, although he felt that he still had room for improvement.
"I’m still trying to get my bearings," Yamamoto said through interpreter Yoshihiro Sonoda. "And specifically with the splitter, it really makes a big difference when I have a small difference of feel. So I’m trying to get that right feel still.”
The first time through the order, Yamamoto faced the minimum, erasing a Miguel Andujar single on a double play in the third inning. The Padres seemed to see him better once they got more exposure to him, but Yamamoto was still able to limit the damage.
Yamamoto surrendered a solo homer to Gavin Sheets to lead off the bottom of the fifth inning, briefly tying the contest at 1 before the Dodgers stormed ahead in the top of the sixth. The big inning -- in which L.A. sent 12 batters to the plate -- resulted in a long layoff for Yamamoto, who gave up one more run on a Sheets RBI single in the bottom of the sixth.
"I thought he got a little too cute in that sixth inning, I felt, with that big lead. Going to cutters and splits behind in the count when you had such a good lead," manager Dave Roberts said. "But I thought the first five innings were fantastic, and he still had a great outing."
The score may have changed drastically in between Yamamoto departing the mound after the fifth inning and returning for the sixth. But the mentality he brought to the sudden blowout was no different than his approach earlier in the game.
"Personally," Yamamoto said, "no matter how much the lead is or how tight the game is, I just treat the game as usual like a tie game.”