Yamamoto pitched against Washington
Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto (Los Angeles Dodgers), who received the highest guaranteed salary ($325 million) for a pitcher in American professional baseball (MLB) history, gave his best pitch since his big league debut.
Yamamoto started the 2024 MLB visiting game against the Washington Nationals held at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C. on the 26th (Korean time) and pitched 6 innings, allowing 4 hits, 1 walk, 7 strikeouts, and no runs.
The Dodgers won 2-1, and Yamamoto recorded his second win (one loss) of the season.
Yamamoto, who collapsed after allowing 5 runs in 1 inning in his debut game in the Seoul Series, rebounded by pitching 2 hits and no runs in 5 innings against the St. Louis Cardinals on the 31st of last month, and reported his first win in his third appearance.
However, in the next two games, he faltered with 11 hits (3 home runs) and 7 runs (6 earned runs) in 11 innings, but he succeeded in rebounding again on this day.
MLB.com analyzed, “The reason Yamamoto showed ups and downs this season was because he was not able to use his three pitch types properly. Today, he threw all four-seam fastballs, curveballs, and splitters well, giving Washington a hard time.”
Yamamoto threw a total of 97 balls that day, 40 four-seam fastballs, 26 each curve and splitter, and 5 cut fastballs.
The fastball speed reached a maximum of 96.8 miles per hour and an average of 95.5 miles per hour.
Yamamoto said, “This is the most satisfying game I’ve pitched in so far. Thanks to the off-speed pitch, my fastball showed more power, and as a result, I was able to throw strikes well.” 한국야동