Yoshinobu Yamamoto absolutely carved up the New York Yankees on Sunday morning, dealing his first regular season complete game as a Dodger in a dominant 8-2 win. This wasn’t just some solid outing, folks, this was a statement from the ace who made sure his bullpen could kick back and relax for the nightcap of their split doubleheader.
Yamamoto’s Masterclass Puts the League on Notice
Seriously, the guy was untouchable for most of the game. Yamamoto retired 21 of the first 23 Yankees batters he faced through seven innings, looking absolutely dialed in. His only real mistakes were a solo home run to Trent Grisham in the fourth and a leadoff double by Ben Rice in the seventh, who ended up stranded. Even the run he gave up in the eighth was thanks to a nasty sun double that got past Andy Pages in center field, not a genuine crack in his armor. Seven strikeouts, zero walks, and he got through all nine innings on just 102 pitches. That’s efficiency, pure and simple. We all remember his two complete games from last postseason, right? Well, this is his first one in the regular season with the Dodgers, and it just cements what we’re seeing: the dude is legit. This was his eighth start this season where he’s gone at least seven frames, and the third time he’s pushed it to eight innings. When you’re leading the majors by averaging 6.65 innings per start, you’re not just a good pitcher, you’re a workhorse, and that’s exactly what he proved against the Yankees.
Dodgers Offense Piles On Against an AL Ace
On the other side of the mound, things definitely did not go according to plan for Yankees right-hander Cam Schlittler. This guy has been lights out all season, either the best or second-best pitcher in the American League, coming into Sunday with a stellar 2.05 ERA and 3.00 xERA. But the Dodgers made him earn every single out. They hammered Schlittler for three runs and chased him after just 4 1/3 innings, matching his shortest outing of the entire season. The bats came alive in the third inning with Shohei Ohtani lacing an RBI double and Freddie Freeman dropping a run-scoring single. Then in the fifth, Tommy Edman got plunked by a pitch, setting up an RBI double by Pages that was the final straw for Schlittler. And just to rub salt in the wound, the Dodgers absolutely exploded for five more runs off reliever Jake Bird in the eighth, capped off by a two-run double from Edman. Man, Edman has been on fire since coming off the injured list, hitting .351/.429/.486 with a 157 wRC+ in 24 games, and his two-hit day Sunday just kept that streak rolling.
The Dodgers got the job done with this first game of the split doubleheader. There’s still another national TV game coming up at 4:20 p.m. PT on NBC and Peacock. It’s going to be a bullpen game for the Dodgers, and you can bet Landon Knack will be a big part of that. Should be interesting to see if they can keep that momentum going!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
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