The Los Angeles Dodgers didn’t have any shortage of options for Opening Day starter given the talent in their rotation, but Yoshinobu Yamamoto stood out as an obvious choice to take the mound in the first game of the Tokyo Series.
In some sense Yamamoto has been overshadowed by Shohei Ohtani in their respective returns to Japan. Roki Sasaki is in that category as well despite being billed as having enough talent to become the best pitcher in baseball.
While Ohtani is going to continue drawing the spotlight, Yamamoto and Shota Imanaga are combining to make MLB history by becoming the first two Japanese pitchers to start in the same regular-season opener.
That it’s going to take place at the Tokyo Dome is all the more significant.
“I’ve been staying in touch with Imanaga some. We have a great responsibility here with baseball as Japanese pitchers facing off in Tokyo,” Yamamoto said through interpreter Yoshihiro Sonoda.
“I’m going to try my best to perform.”
Yamamoto and the Dodgers received plenty of support from local fans during their workouts and two Tokyo Series exhibition games thus far. The right-hander was regularly cheered whenever going through a throwing routine on the field.
“I really feel the excitement of the country with the games being played here,” Yamamoto said. “Obviously, I’m looking forward to pitching in front of the fans. I want to do my very best to make sure I do well.”
In addition to pitching back in his home country for the first time since becoming the highest-paid pitcher in MLB history, Yamamoto has played the part of host for Dodgers teammates.
Ohtani, Yamamoto and Sasaki organized a players-only dinner on Sunday night in Tokyo. Yamamoto also helped teach the native language to his teammates.
“Even before we came here a lot of players asked me about the Japanese language. And since we’ve been here, they’re trying to use Japanese,” Yamamoto said. “As a Japanese person, it’s good to see them trying to learn my culture.”
Yoshinobu Yamamoto ‘learned’ from Seoul Series
The stage is similar to when Yamamoto made his MLB debut last season in the second game of the Seoul Series. But that was a start to forget as Yamamoto allowed five runs and completed just one inning against the San Diego Padres.
“There were a lot of things that I learned from that mistake,” Yamamoto said. “I still felt responsibility for losing that game. But over the course of the whole season, I learned a lot.”
That sentiment has also been shared by Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, who noted throughout the spring how much more confident and comfortable Yamamoto is in 2025.
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