The Los Angeles Dodgers secured a series win over the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday afternoon behind another solid start from Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
The right-hander completed seven innings for the second consecutive outing, giving up just one run and seven hits on 92 pitches.
Yamamoto recorded a season-low three strikeouts against the Brewers, who are among the league leaders at putting the ball in play. Dalton Rushing, who caught the 27-year-old, believes the aggressive approach actually played into the Dodgers’ hands.
“I think they were swinging from the get-go. Kind of helped us from our game plan,” Rushing said on SportsNet LA after the team’s 5-1 win.
“Let Yoshi go deep into the game, give the bullpen as little innings as possible to eat up. Obviously, Tanner (Scott) and Will (Klein) came in and did their thing, but it was a good showing regardless of the strikeouts. I think it was really good stuff. It was quality from the get-go.”
The Brewers’ tendency to swing early helped Yamamoto manage his pitch count and preserve the Dodgers’ bullpen. Yamamoto’s seven-inning performance was the first by a Dodgers pitcher since his previous start against the San Diego Padres on May 18.
L.A. used only two relief pitchers in their series-clinching victory over the Brewers as Will Klein and Tanner Scott each completed a scoreless inning.
Kyle Tucker praises Yoshinobu Yamamoto
Kyle Tucker, who went 2-for-5 with a double, triple and two RBI in Sunday’s matchup at American Family Field, believes Yamamoto set the tone early against the Brewers.
“Watching him pitch every single time he’s been out there is really fun,” Tucker said on SportsNet LA. “He either gets the strikeouts or weak contact. He locates really well.
“Facing him previously, it’s tough. I feel like he just dots everything and you’ve just got to wait for him to make a mistake, but he rarely does that. It’s been a lot of fun playing behind him this year.”
Tucker was also happy to see the Dodgers provide some run support for Yamamoto, which has been somewhat of a rarity this season.
“It’s great,” Tucker said. “Our pitching staff has done a phenomenal job for us all year long, so we just try and do our part.
“Put together good at-bats and try to score some runs to give them a little bit of breathing room. We were able to do that in the fifth.”
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