Dodgers waste strong Yamamoto start in loss to Padres
Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto (18) throws a pitch during the first inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. SAN DIEGO — The Dodgers arrived at Petco Park looking untouchable. They had just steamrolled the Angels over the weekend, sweeping the Freeway Series while outscoring them 31-3 in three games.
Then Monday night happened. In a game that looked and felt like October baseball in mid-May, the Padres reminded the Dodgers, and maybe the rest of the National League, that none of what happened against the Angels mattered once the first pitch was thrown at Petco Park. One mistake.
One swing. One missed opportunity. That was the difference in San Diego’s 1-0 victory over the Dodgers, a win that pushed the Padres a half-game ahead in the NL West standings.
And the frustrating part for the Dodgers? Yoshinobu Yamamoto was good enough to win. Actually, he was more than good enough.
Outside of one splitter that stayed elevated for Miguel Andújar in the first inning, Yamamoto delivered one of his sharpest outings of the season: seven innings, three hits, one earned run, eight strikeouts and 107 pitches in a classic pitchers’ duel against Michael King. But for Yamamoto, the opening inning continues to haunt him. On the 10th pitch of the game, Yamamoto got ahead of Andújar with two strikes before hanging a 92 mph splitter over the plate.
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