In a surprising move, the Los Angeles Dodgers switched their starting pitchers for the National League Division Series, opting for rookie Yoshinobu Yamamoto over veteran Jack Flaherty for Game 1 against the San Diego Padres. This decision was revealed by Dodgers President of Baseball Operations, Andrew Friedman.
Yamamoto, 26, faced a rocky start, allowing a walk and three hits, including a three-run homer from Manny Machado. While some might say the pressure got to him, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts pointed to a different culprit.
“His glove positioning gave away our pitch sequences,” said Roberts. “We’ll address this internally since they were hitting well against him in those three innings.”
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After making adjustments, Yamamoto was much better in the second inning, which saw no runs from the Padres. However, they rallied back in the third inning, scoring twice and ending Yamamoto’s night by the fourth inning.
This wasn’t just a coaching observation; fans also caught onto Yamamoto’s pitch-tipping. One fan, Rick Rios, shared on Twitter that his son, a college pitcher, noticed Yamamoto holding his glove differently before pitching his splitter.
That’s funny, my son who is a pitcher in college, said the same thing. He said he noticed when runners were on he held his glove differently before he threw the splitter.
— Rick Rios (@Jari44) October 6, 2024
Yamamoto acknowledged the excitement of his first playoff appearance, expressing that he attempted to channel the crowd’s energy in a positive way, but ultimately fell short.
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Coming to the Dodgers via a 12-year, $325 million deal after a successful career in Japan, Yamamoto had been limited to 18 starts this season due to a shoulder injury. Nonetheless, his performance yielded a solid 7-2 record with a 3.00 ERA and 105 strikeouts in 90 innings.
With the Dodgers managing his rest carefully, Yamamoto’s options for the postseason are limited. However, Roberts stated that if necessary, he could see action again in Game 5.
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