Yoshinobu Yamamoto's impressive rebound puts positive spin on Dodgers' loss

LOS ANGELES − It was a grueling loss, a blown lead, a wasted comeback and a hideous mistake-prone inning in a game played on a cold night with their first rain delay at home in nine years.

And there was not a soul in the Los Angeles Dodgers clubhouse showing the least bit of concern, or even disappointment, after their 6-5, 10-inning defeat Saturday night to the St. Louis Cardinals.

They may have lost the battle, but, oh, did they ever win the war.

The Dodgers saw one of the most beautiful sights of their young season.

The return of Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

MLB SALARIES: Baseball's top 25 highest-paid players in 2024

It’s the first time he's looked like the $325 million pitcher the Dodgers invested in during the winter, winning one of the fiercest bidding wars for a free agent pitcher in history.

"You lose a ballgame, it never feels good," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, "but the main takeaway for us is that Yoshinobu had a tremendous night. That was the most positive thing for all of us …

"He was really good tonight. This is what we saw the first few weeks in spring training and obviously seeing him on video the last couple of years."

Yamamoto, 25, who struggled in his last two spring training starts, and absolutely stunk in his major-league debut in South Korea, showed the Dodgers that he’s going to be just fine, well, even better than fine, in his stateside debut Saturday evening.

Yamamoto, even after enduring the Dodgers’ first rain delay since April 7, 2015, was dazzling in his five-inning performance, showing off an arsenal that made him the most coveted free-agent pitcher out of Japan.

"I got my stuff back," Yamamoto said. "I was calm today. Now, I’ve got to keep doing it."

He opened the evening by striking out Cardinals leadoff hitter Brendan Donovan on three pitches, freezing him on a 78-mph curveball. He struck out former MVP Paul Goldschmidt on an 88-mph splitter. And he ended the inning striking out Nolan Gorman on a 90-mph splitter.

Good morning, good afternoon, good night.

The crowd of 45,019 screamed louder and louder with every strikeout.

"That was a great vibe," Yamamoto said, "with the crowd, the fans. I enjoyed it. That was great."

The entire Dodger organization shared the euphoria, particularly Dodgers DH Shohei Ohtani, who helped recruit Yamamoto to the Dodgers.

"Obviously excellent, overall, excellent," Ohtani said. "Just wanted to put up a little bit more support early in the game, and wanted to give him a win."

Yamamoto gave up just two hits and struck out five with no walks in five shutout innings. He had everything working, his 96-mph fastball, his cutter, his split-finger, and his change-up, leaving the Cardinals feeling helpless.

Certainly, it was a far cry from his debut in Seoul against the San Diego Padres when he was yanked after just one inning and 43 pitches, giving up five runs on four hits, two walks, and a hit batter.

"He did an amazing job bouncing back and he didn’t let the first one affect him," said Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts, who homered for the fourth consecutive game, and is now hitting .611 with a 2.109 OPS, reaching base in 18 of his 25 plate appearances.

"It’s really neat to see someone with a lot of pressure and whatnot on him, handling everything so well."

The Dodgers insist they were never worried about Yamamoto. They blamed his brutal debut on being thrown off his routine. He not only was pitching in South Korea, but he was taking the mound just hours after Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, was fired after being accused of stealing money from Ohtani’s bank account to pay off a $4.5 million gambling debt.

This time, there were no distractions, just the desire to end anyone’s doubts in his ability.

"I think with Yoshinobu there’s a lot of confidence," Roberts said, “and there’s a lot of pride and fire. And appreciating the contract and his part of the deal, I think he takes it personal. He was really intent on pitching well for his home debut. I wasn’t surprised by it. It’s good to see.’’

Really, Yamamoto said, it was simply fixing some flaws in his delivery. It wasn’t a matter of nerves. He’s pitched on big stages his whole life. Besides, it’s a huge adjustment getting acclimated living in a foreign country, where you don’t speak the language, and everything is new, even the nuances of the game.

“In terms of differences,’’ Ohtani said, “the baseball, the mound, the schedule, just being in a total different lifestyle environment.’’

The way the Dodgers see it now, he’s just scratching the surface with his sheer talent.

And, oh, just wait until he gets comfortable.

“A new player coming to a new team, a new country, a new league,’’ Roberts said, “you want to perform well. You want to see him build that confidence. True confidence comes from performance.

“It’s great to see him with a smile on his face.’’

And a genuine look of fear on every hitter’s face trying to get a hit off him.

“I don’t want to make too much out of the second start,’’ Roberts said, “but I just really believe this is a sign of more things to come.’’

Follow Nightengale on X: @Bnightengale