The Los Angeles Dodgers notched their sixth consecutive win with an 8-2 victory over the Miami Marlins behind another dominant start from Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
The right-hander ran into some early trouble when he allowed a leadoff home run to Jazz Chisholm Jr. on the first pitch of the game.
Yamamoto would bounce back and got through the rest of the frame without giving up another run. He was in full command of his pitches and did not throw his first ball of the game until the Marlins’ No. 8 hitter, Vidal Bruján came up with two outs in the top of the second.
According to MLB Stats, Yamamoto is the first Dodgers pitcher since pitch tracking began in 2000 to throw 19 consecutive strikes to begin a game.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto casually starts the game with 19 STRAIGHT STRIKES.
No @Dodgers pitcher on record has done this since pitch-tracking data began in 2000. pic.twitter.com/F7Rc4Le0Iv
— MLB Stats (@MLBStats) May 8, 2024
Yamamoto allowed just one more run the rest of the way — a solo homer to Bryan De La Cruz with one out in the top of the sixth.
The 25-year-old yielded just the two runs on five hits and collected five strikeouts over a career-best eight innings pitched. It was the first time in his MLB career that Yamamoto pitched into the seventh inning.
After a rough start in his big league debut, Yamamoto has firmly established himself as one of the best pitchers in baseball. He improved to 4-1 with a 2.79 ERA, 3.10 FIP, 1.00 WHIP and 10.1 strikeouts per nine over 42 innings pitched (eight starts).
Austin Barnes: Yoshinobu Yamamoto is ‘awesome’
Although Will Smith caught Yamamoto on Tuesday, Austin Barnes has been behind the plate for a few of his starts this season.
The 34-year-old recently praised Yamamoto by saying he has been great so far, while Max Muncy noted that Yamamoto is fun to watch.
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