Yoshinobu Yamamoto Shows Dodgers Exactly Why He Should Start Game 1

When he needed it most, starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto reminded everyone in the Los Angeles Dodgers clubhouse why he is the man for Game 1 of any playoff series.

A day after the Dodgers clinched their postseason berth and secured a shot at completing their three-peat, Yamamoto took the mound to help the team in their postseason seeding race with a road game against the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday, September 16th.

Yamamoto went seven scoreless innings, allowing one hit and two walks while getting eight punchouts, and looked like he had much more in the tank.

Manager Dave Roberts could have easily kept Yamamoto in for at least another inning; the Japanese pitcher had only 91 pitches down, given his propensity to pitch a high volume.

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Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto (18) throws a pitch in the first inning of the MLB National League game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Los Angeles Dodgers at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati on Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026. The Dodgers led 3-0 after three innings.

He allowed only two hard hits, highlighting his dominance, and both walks came on his first two batters.

Yamamoto retired 21 of the final 22 batters he faced, threw 16 whiffs, and used a wide variety of pitches, with none exceeding 25% usage.

The outing was a nice change of pace for Yamamoto, who has been prone to the long ball and giving up hard contact.

Instead, he did a good job of keeping the Reds hitters off-balance, and it looked like what Dodger fans have come to expect from Yamamoto: efficiency, elite pitch mix, and weak contact.

More than anything, his ability to move on from mistakes, like his lack of command that led to two walks right off the bat, is really the special sauce for Yamamoto.
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Roberts, after the game, spoke to this resilience and how it translates perfectly to October and high-leverage moments, when everyone gets tested in some shape or fashion.

“I think the thing that I’ve learned about Yoshinobu is he’s able to reset on the fly,” the skipper said.

“He’s able to bear down and make pitches when he needs to, to get a double play, a strikeout, a pop-up.

“Those are separators. When you’re not totally locked in or in sync, you can still take a deep breath, reset, and navigate an inning and keep going. And so that’s something that I’ve really learned from him.”

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Sep 15, 2026; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto (18) prepares to throw against the Cincinnati Reds in the first inning at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-Imagn Images

Given his 2025 postseason exploits, it is hard to argue that Yamamoto has much to prove in the playoffs, and he needs to make his case to pitch the first game in the postseason.

Pitching in Game 1, when the team is fully healthy, is the ultimate nod of respect for an ace, and earning that honor as a member of his special rotation makes it all the more noteworthy.

Yamamoto, given his track record, has seemingly been in pole position all season, but Blake Snell’s form and Tarik Skubal‘s arrival have sparked a healthy debate about who takes the ball first.

Since returning from the IL after elbow surgery on August 11th, Snell has a 1.04 ERA through 34.2 innings. He has 46 strikeouts and 14 walks in that span.

Yamamoto has a 1.98 ERA in 68.1 innings since the All-Star break. His ratio is 72 strikeouts to 16 walks.

By comparison, Skubal has a 2.52 ERA in 50 innings with the Dodgers since joining from the trade deadline on August 3rd. He also has a 57 strikeouts-to-11 walks ratio.

Recently, Skubal had his own seven-inning scoreless outing, and he looked very settled in, while Snell has not put a foot wrong.

However, Yamamoto’s latest outing showed the front office that he can deliver a vintage Yamamoto outing, which, come postseason time, is invaluable.

It means he can provide a long outing, sometimes a complete game, along with minimal runs allowed, and leave the hitters in a tizzy.