“It was fun just to watch Yamamoto’s ball movement in the central outfield.”
Los Angeles Dodgers teammate Tommy Edman said this. Dodgers right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto proved in his World Series debut why he is currently the highest paid pitcher in the big leagues.
Yamamoto started Game 2 of the World Series against the New York Yankees in the “2024 Major League Postseason” at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California on the 27th (Korea time) and reported victory in his World Series debut by pitching 86 pitches, one hit (one homer), two walks, four strikeouts, and one run in six ⅓ innings. Yamamoto showed off his best condition by throwing the most pitches since returning from injury, recording a quality start for the first time. The Dodgers won 4-2 and won the World Series for the second consecutive time.
He boasted his ball power that did not lag behind the Yankees’ slugging line. While actively mixing fastballs (42) with curves (21), Yamamoto threw splitters (11), sliders (8), and cutters (4). By increasing the proportion of curves from his usual practice, he focused on stealing the timing of Yankees batters. The maximum speed of fastballs was 98 miles (158 kilometers).
Jeff Bankruptcy, a reporter for ESPN, said, “Yamamoto has finished pitching. He was a pitcher who signed a 325 million-dollar contract in his first appearance in the World Series. He pitched six ⅓ innings, allowed just one hit (one homer to Juan Soto), walked two and struck out four, recorded the last 11 consecutive hitters, and left the mound to receive a standing ovation.”
Yamamoto has also made history. “Yamamoto became the 11th pitcher in the history of the World Series to post one hit or less in six or more innings. He became the second pitcher of the Dodgers to post a hit in Game 4 of the 2018 World Series,” said Sarah Reims of MLB.com .
Yamamoto had a regular season where his expectations for ransom were overshadowed. Yamamoto signed a contract with the Dodgers for 325 million U.S. dollars, the highest in the history of pitcher FA, and also achieved the longest contract period in the history of pitcher FA with 12 years. However, Yamamoto appeared in 18 regular-season games and recorded 7 wins and 2 losses, 90 innings, 105 strikeouts, and an earned run average of 3.00. He left the team for nearly three months due to a shoulder injury and returned to the team about a month before the postseason, but it is true that there were many question marks over whether he would be able to throw all-out pitching in the postseason. In the three post-season games up until the Championship Series, Yamamoto had only one win, 12 ⅓ innings, and an earned run average of 5.11. Pitching over five innings and 70 pitches was difficult.
Yamamoto appeared much more stable in his fourth postseason appearance. The only flaw was that he allowed Juan Soto to throw a superior solo shot in the top of the third inning when his team was leading 1-0. He threw a 95.2 mph fastball toward his body in the sixth pitch from the full count, and it extended sharply over the right fence. It was the first and last hit Yamamoto gave to the Yankees on the day, making it 1-1.
The Dodgers’ lineup immediately gave strength to Yamamoto’s shoulders. With Betts on base with a left-handed hit after two outs in the bottom of the third inning, Teoscar Hernandez hit a two-run shot to right-center to widen the gap to 3-1. Freeman, the hero of the walk-off grand slam in the 10th inning of Game 1 of the World Series, then ran away 4-1 by boasting good batting performance for two consecutive days with a back-to-back home run.
Yamamoto continued his stable pitching by banking on the three-run lead. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts took the mound in the top of the sixth inning with confidence in Yamamoto, who roared after handling Gleyber Torres, Soto and Aaron Judge with three outs. Yamamoto kept the mound in the top of the seventh inning as well. He handled leadoff hitter Giancarlo Stanton with a fly ball to the second baseman and replaced left-hander Anthony Banda.
“Yamamoto was fantastic today,” Roberts said in a press conference after the game. “I watched how Yamamoto threw the ball, and it didn’t seem that stressful. Yamamoto never pitched in the seventh inning against the Yankees (last June), but Yamamoto threw up to 76 pitches, so I thought the build-up was good, so I left it as it was. I really wanted him to catch Stanton. Just one more batter,” he said, praising Yamamoto for completing his mission.
Edman, who played center field, said, “Yamamoto pitched really well today. He was really aggressive. Just watching his ball move in the center field was fun. He kept destroying the batters’ balance, and he pitched really well. The Yankees are a really good lineup, but they allowed just one hit in six ⅓. It was really impressive to watch. He was one of the best pitchers ever.” 안전놀이터
Yamamoto said, “Everything was good. Everything was good today, including the location and the height of entering the strike zone. When I allowed a home run, it was tied, and since then, I’ve been supported with scoring. I think that’s why I was able to keep throwing without losing a point.”
“I just tried to concentrate. Whenever I faced a batter, I only focused on that batter. That’s why I was able to throw strikes whenever I wanted,” he added.
When he said how he felt about finishing his World Series debut successfully, he showed the same reaction as a child. Yamamoto said, “I think it was a mixture of emotions. I was happy because it was a very long-awaited moment, but when I played, I think I tried to concentrate.”
