The Los Angeles Dodgers got back to their winning ways with a 4-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs, led by a phenomenal outing turned in by Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
The right-hander was making his first start on the road in the United States for the Dodgers after pitching in Seoul, South Korea and at Dodger Stadium to begin his career.
Despite facing a tough lineup and dealing with cold and windy weather, Yamamoto didn’t let that affect his game. Yamamoto threw five shutout innings, allowing just three hits and striking out eight en route to his first MLB win.
He did walk two hitters and dealt with some traffic early in the game, but he was able to pitch out of it every time, including in a bases-loaded first inning where he came back to strike out the side.
Offense was hard to come by for both teams, and the Dodgers left seven runners on base in total, going 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position.
However, they finally got on the board in the fifth inning when Austin Barnes started a rally with a single, and Shohei Ohtani moved him into scoring position with a base hit.
A two-out walk from Teoscar Hernández loaded the bases, and Barnes ended up scoring the first run of the game on a wild pitch.
With two runners still on, Max Muncy gave the Dodgers some breathing room with a two-run double.
The Dodgers added some insurance in the eighth inning when Chris Taylor reached on an error and Miguel Rojas drove him in with a sun-aided single to put L.A. up by four runs.
While the offense did enough to win, they failed to reach the five run mark for the first time this season, stopping their franchise-record streak at 10 games, and falling short of the all-time record of 13 straight games to open a season.
Ryan Brasier, Joe Kelly and Daniel Hudson each worked a scoreless inning following Yamamoto.
Evan Phillips entered in the ninth with a four-run lead and ended up surrendering one while also putting the tying run at the plate, but finished the game regardless.
Dodgers vs. Cubs rubber match on Sunday
The Dodgers conclude their series against the Cubs on Sunday with the rubber match beginning at 11:20 a.m. PT.
Gavin Stone takes the ball for his second start after posting mixed results in his first outing. He faces off against Shōta Imanaga, who was brilliant in his MLB debut with six shutout innings with nine strikeouts.
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