Yoshinobu Yamamoto combined with Shota Imanaga to make MLB history by starting the Opening Day game of the Tokyo Series, which saw the Los Angeles Dodgers come away with a 4-1 win over the Chicago Cubs.
Yamamoto’s second season with the Dodgers began much better than his first, as he completed five innings with four strikeouts and held the Cubs to just one run. It was a good jumping-off point to what manager Dave Roberts believes can be a possible Cy Young-caliber season for the 26-year-old.
After Yamamoto’s outing, the Dodgers bullpen came in to close out the remaining four innings, with notable offseason signing Tanner Scott recording his first save with the team. Following the historic start, Yamamoto donated his cap to be on display at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.
The first winning pitcher of the 2025 season.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto is donating his cap from Game 1 of the #TokyoSeries to the Hall of Fame! pic.twitter.com/hZm8Oh18QR
— National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum ⚾ (@baseballhall) March 19, 2025
It was a successful homecoming for Yamamoto as he pitched in Japan for the first time since 2023. He enjoyed unparalleled success during his Nippon Professional Baseball career, earning five All-Star selections, three Triple Crowns, three Pacific League MVP Awards, three Cy Young equivalents and much more across parts of seven seasons.
Yamamoto missed significant time with a shoulder injury during his first season with the Dodgers in 2024, but still managed to post a 3.00 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 28.5% strikeout rate. He became even more vital during the Dodgers’ World Series run as they were limited to a three-man rotation.
After giving up five runs in his first postseason start, Yamamoto was much more effective the rest of the way as he allowed only three runs over the next 15.2 innings. Included in that was a strong start against the Yankees in Game 2 of the World Series.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto recognized significance of Tokyo Series start
Because of the historical implications of starting on Opening Day and playing in his home country for the first time in two years, Yamamoto felt a “great responsibility” to put forth a good performance and represent Japan well.
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