Yoshinobu Yamamoto “better than ever” on his return; Dodgers lose

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Dodgers played one of their worst defensive games of the year, watching it end with a home run blocked by Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong. But Tuesday night brought them an unmistakable dose of optimism – Yoshinobu Yamamoto returned after a three-month layoff and his performance was as good as ever.

Before the Dodgers lost 6-3 and cut their division lead to 4 1/2 games, Yamamoto limited the Cubs to just one run in four innings in which he struck out eight batters. His fastball averaged more than 96 miles per hour. His splitter and curveball looked devastating. His control was as sharp as could reasonably be expected, considering he hadn't pitched in a major league game since a rotator cuff strain on June 15.

“It was pretty surprising,” Dodgers catcher Austin Barnes said. “I didn't know what he was going to look like after that game, and he looked better than ever.”

The Dodgers have been plagued by injuries in their rotation all season and entered Wednesday's game with only one player certain: Jack Flaherty will be their starter in October.

But then Tyler Glasnow, who had been out since Aug. 11 with what the team described as tendinitis in the elbow area, played his second bullpen session, prompting coaches to release him for a simulated two- to three-inning game on Friday.

And then Yamamoto looked a lot like the man the Dodgers envisioned when they gave him a 12-year, $325 million contract in the offseason, the largest contract ever for a starting pitcher.

“I feel a lot better about the rotation tonight than I did 24 hours ago,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “It's starting to change and we're getting back to the rotation we envisioned.”

Yamamoto began his outing with three consecutive strikeouts — Ian Happ hitting a curveball in the dirt, Dansby Swanson hitting a splitter that whizzed past just below the strike zone, and fellow countryman Seiya Suzuki looking at a full-count fastball that hit the outside edge of home plate.

The Cubs scored a run in the second inning after shortstop Miguel Rojas and first baseman Freddie Freeman botched ground balls. But Yamamoto struck out again when the Cubs' lineup flipped in the third inning, and finished his performance by forcing former Dodgers prospect Michael Busch into an inning-ending double play in the fourth inning.

Yamamoto said through an interpreter: “Today’s trip went much better than expected.”

He threw 50 pitches and should be able to increase his output to around 75 pitches when he returns to action on Monday, with three starts remaining to prepare for the postseason.

“We're going to do that every start from now on – control the fastball, both sides of the plate, hit the low dart, split underneath, steal a strike with the breaking ball,” Roberts said. “It's been really good.”