The Boston Red Sox completed a three-game sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers last week, but it wasn’t without a strong start from Yoshinobu Yamamoto in the middle matchup at Dodger Stadium.
The right-hander allowed three runs on four hits and collected three strikeouts in eight innings of work. It was his fourth start this season of at least eight frames, which is tied with Sandy Alcantara of the Miami Marlins for the most in the Majors.
Yamamoto’s performance didn’t lead to a win, but it was nevertheless impressive, coming on the heels of a lengthy illness that caused him to lose eight pounds, via Jack Harris and Dylan Hernández of the California Post.
In the days leading up to the start, the already diminutive right-hander lost roughly eight pounds after getting sick at the end of the team’s previous road trip in New York.
Yamamoto did not travel with the Dodgers to Wrigley Field for the start of their six-game road trip, but rejoined them at Chase Field ahead of his start against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Saturday.
This week, Yamamoto stayed back in Los Angeles during the Chicago portion of the team’s road trip to keep recuperating. He rejoined them in Arizona ahead of his next scheduled start on Saturday.
Yamamoto began to feel sick at the end of the Dodgers’ previous road trip on the East Coast, but he did not miss any turns in the rotation. Rather, the team pushed back his start against the Red Sox one day so he could have more time to recuperate.
Yamamoto wasn’t overly dominant, but just taking the mound to begin with was a remarkable feat in itself. The 27-year-old will be making his next start against the Diamondbacks on six days’ rest, which has been the norm for him this season.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s 2026 stats
Yamamoto is in the midst of another strong season for the Dodgers, having gone 11-7 with a 2.76 ERA, 3.46 FIP and 0.88 WHIP in 133.2 innings across 20 starts thus far.
Yamamoto has been one of the best pitchers in the National League and should receive Cy Young Award votes for his efforts, even if he isn’t considered to the favorite to win the honor.
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