CHICAGO – The competition for this year’s National League Cy Young award is already historic.
Phillies left-hander Cristopher Sanchez has already had a 50 ⅔ inning scoreless streak, the longest ever by a left-handed pitcher and the fifth-longest in MLB history by any pitcher. Brewers flamethrower Jacob Misiorowski had possibly the greatest game ever pitched earlier this week, a 15-strikeout, one-hitter during which he set the Statcast velocity record for a starting pitcher (104.5 mph). And Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani has returned to full-time pitching with a vengeance (and a 1.06 ERA).
Lurking on the fringes of the Cy Young race, though, is Yoshinobu Yamamoto. His near-perfect game, near-no-hitter Saturday was just his latest outstanding start. Over his past five, he has allowed just four runs in 35 ⅔ innings (1.01 ERA). Batters have managed just a .140 average (17 for 121) against him while striking out 32 times and drawing just five walks. He fell one short of matching an MLB record when he retired 45 consecutive batters over his past two starts.
“I think obviously every time he takes the mound we feel he’s got a pretty good chance to do something special,” Dodgers pitching coach Mark Prior said after Saturday’s performance. “It’s pitch to pitch, batter to batter and he’s really good at compartmentalizing what’s going on. For him, that’s just attacking each pitch with conviction and being confident in what he’s throwing. He got some great plays to help him out. But at the end of the day, he threw all of his pitches where he wanted. The split was working. His fastball at the bottom of the zone was good. He was working up and in to the lefties. Used the cutter a lot more today. That seemed to really keep them off balance. And he mixes in a random curveball here and there to keep them guessing.”
Yamamoto presents a complex puzzle for hitters to solve. He throws six different pitches – a four-seam fastball that averaged 97 mph Saturday, a sinking two-seam fastball, a cutter, splitter, curveball and slider.
“He’s got so many weapons. So many different ways to get you out,” Mookie Betts said, calling Saturday’s game just the latest example of “Yoshi being Yoshi.”
It’s not just the number of pitches, Prior said. It’s Yamamoto’s ability to command them with precision and deploy them in various ways.
“He can attack the plate on both sides from ball-to-strike better than anybody I’ve ever seen. He has that ability to do that when he’s on,” Prior said. “That makes it tough on hitters. You don’t know if the ball is coming at them, from the right side or the left side, and going in.
“That’s what makes him special. It’s not just the amount of pitches. It’s the ability to throw them in four different quadrants and have pretty good execution and efficiency with it. That’s what makes him special.”
ROJAS STATUS
Miguel Rojas said he injured his right ankle/shin area during the series in Pittsburgh when a baserunner slid into it on a play at second base. He aggravated it when he had to jump out of the way of an inside pitch during his fifth inning at-bat Saturday.
He finished the at-bat by grounding out. But he didn’t want his movement to be compromised on defense with Yamamoto pitching a perfect game and was replaced by Santiago Espinal.
Rojas received treatment Sunday morning and said he was available if needed in the game.
REHAB ROUNDUP
Tommy Edman and Evan Phillips continued their minor-league injury-rehabilitation assignments with Triple-A Oklahoma City on Saturday.
Edman went 1 for 5 as the DH but has played second and third base, left and center field with OKC. In 13 games, he is 11 for 47 (.234) and could join the Dodgers as soon as Tuesday.
Phillips made his fourth appearance with OKC, returning from Tommy John surgery. He allowed a solo home run (his first run allowed in 3 ⅔ innings).
Brock Stewart started his rehab assignment with Class-A Ontario on Friday.
UP NEXT
Rays (RHP Nick Martinez, 6-2, 2.43 ERA) at Dodgers (LHP Eric Lauer, 2-5, 5.47 ERA), Monday, 7:10 p.m., ESPN, 570 AM