Yoshinobu Yamamoto Struggles As New York Yankees Stave Off Sweep

Yoshinobu Yamamoto was shaky at the beginning of the game and was out of the game after just 3.1 innings pitched. The Dodgers’ bullpen came in and made things worse. Yamamoto was battled tightly by Yankee starter Ryan Yarborough, who has been resurgent since he joined the starting rotation and was excellent again.

He outdueled Yamamoto and pitched six strong innings. The Yankees won the game 7-3. Chavez Ravine is a house of horrors for the Yankees, and the Dodgers can score runs. The Dodgers had the advantage in this third game of the series with Yamamoto pitching. Did you think the Dodgers had an advantage in this World Series rematch?

Lineups For Yamamoto’s Start Against the Yankees

The Los Angeles Dodgers had Shohei Ohtani as the designated hitter, batting leadoff. Teoscar Hernandez was the right fielder batting second. Freddie Freeman was the first baseman, batting third. Will Smith was the catcher, batting fourth. Andy Pages was the center fielder, batting fifth. Tommy Edmon was the center fielder and batted sixth. Max Muncy was the third baseman and batted seventh. Kiki Hernandez was the second baseman and batted eighth. Miguel Rojas was the shortstop and batted ninth. Hyeseong Kim batted for him in the eighth inning.

For the Yankees, Paul Goldschmidt batted first and was the first baseman. Trent Grisham was the center fielder and batted second. Aaron Judge batted third and was the right fielder. Ben Rice was the designated hitter and batted fourth. Jasson Dominguez was the left fielder and batted fifth. Cody Bellinger pinch-hit for him in the sixth inning and stayed in the game playing left field. Anthony Volpe was the shortstop and batted sixth. Austin Wells was the catcher and batted seventh. DJ LeMahieu played second base and batted eighth. Oswald Peraza was the third baseman, batting ninth.

The Weather

It was perfect baseball weather in Los Angeles. It was 81 degrees Fahrenheit. However, it was cloudy, with a 20 percent chance of rain. The weather has been great in Los Angeles all series long.

Game Story

The Yankees made Yamamoto work in the first three innings. He threw 28 pitches in the first inning alone. He walked two batters, and the Yankees scored one run. The high pitch count was an issue for Yamamoto all night and resulted in his early exit. The 79 pitches he threw in three innings were the most he had thrown all year. The Dodgers’ bullpen has thrown the most innings all season, so they needed Yamamoto to eat up innings. Jumping out to an early lead is what the Yankees did last night, also, and lost 18-2.

All of the players on the field wore the number four on the front of their jerseys in recognition of Lou Gehrig. The “Iron Horse,” and Captain of the New York Yankees, died of the disease that bears his name on June 2, 1941. His death shocked that nation and it is right for Major League Baseball to honor him. Gehrig’s farewell speech is the greatest oration ever on a baseball field. The umpires even wore the No. 4 on their shirts.

Last season, five of the six teams that were in first place in their divisions on June 1 won their divisions. That bodes well for the Yankees, Tigers, Mariners, Phillies, Mets, Cubs, and Dodgers. Those teams are the current division leaders heading into June, with the NL East tied.

Scoring Summary

In the first innings, Dominguez singled and Judge scored. The Yankees jumped out to a 1-0 lead. In the second inning, Edman hit a solo home run. That tied the game at 1. In the third inning, the Yankees scored three runs. First, Rice hit a two-run home run. The Yankees took a 3-1 lead. Then, Volpe scored on a wild pitch by Yamamoto. The Yankees took a 4-1 lead.

In the fifth inning, LeMahieu singled and Dominguez scored. The Yankees took a 5-1 lead. This game was a coming-out party for LeMahieu. Then Peraza hit an RBI  single and Wells scored. It was 6-1 Yankees. In the sixth inning. Pages hit a solo home run. That cut the Yankees’ lead to 6-2. Muncy hit a solo home run, and it was 6-3 Yankees. In the ninth inning, LeMahieu doubled and Bellinger scored. The Yankees expanded their lead to 7-3.

Conclusion

Yamamoto struggled for the Dodgers, who needed him to have a good outing. Their bullpen has pitched the most innings in baseball so far this season. That trend is not sustainable for a team with World Series aspirations. The Yankees are off tomorrow, before hosting the Guardians on Tuesday. It will be good to hear them called by their announcers, as none of the games in the three-game series against Cleveland are national games.