CLEVELAND — The group of starting pitchers spread out over their roster and the injured list seem to be a constant source of concern for the Dodgers. And then there is Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
Yamamoto allowed just three hits over six innings in his latest quality start as the Dodgers beat the Cleveland Guardians, 7-2, on Monday night.
The two runs Yamamoto allowed actually raised his slender ERA from 1.86 to 1.97, second in the National League to his countryman Kodai Senga (1.46). Nearly as important for the starter-starved Dodgers has been Yamamoto’s reliability. The victory over the Guardians was the seventh time in his last nine starts that Yamamoto has gone at least six innings. He has allowed two earned runs or fewer in nine of his 11 starts.
Against the Guardians, Yamamoto was in charge from the start. He struck out four of the first five batters he faced and allowed just one hit in the first five innings.
He even made the defensive play of the game in the third inning. With runners at first and second and no outs, the Guardians’ No. 9 hitter, Will Wilson, dropped a bunt to the right side, pushing it past Freddie Freeman, charging in from first base. Yamamoto ran it down and kept going, racing Wilson to first base and tagging him out as he dove for first base.
The Guardians scored on a force out by Steven Kwan that followed and again in the sixth inning when Teoscar Hernandez played Jose Ramirez’s soft line drive into a double. Kyle Manzardo drove Ramirez in with a single.
Yamamoto spent the entire day pitching with a lead thanks to Shohei Ohtani.
After hitting the second pitch of Sunday’s game into the seats for his 18th home run, Ohtani was impatient Monday. He hit the first pitch of the game into the right field seats for his major-league-leading 19th home run of the season (and fifth leadoff home run this year).
The rest of the Dodgers’ offense was more steady drip than explosion.
They scored a run in the second inning on an RBI single by Andy Pages then added two in the fifth as Guardians starter Gavin Williams walked six batters and threw 109 pitches in just 4⅔ innings. Mookie Betts and Freeman had back-to-back RBI singles in the sixth inning.
Will Smith added a solo home run in the ninth. Smith reached base four times in the game – two walks, a single and the homer.
More to come on this story.