Dave Roberts Sounds Alarm on ’Uncharacteristic Yamamoto’s Persistent Struggles as Yankees Expose Dodgers Ace

It wouldn’t be wrong to say that the New York Yankees finally had their revenge on the Los Angeles Dodgers. They couldn’t save the 18-2 blowout loss against them on Saturday. But yes, they finally managed to acquire a 7-2 win against the Dodgers on Sunday. Let’s not forget that facing the Yankees with their pitching lineup marred by injuries and still staying afloat is a miracle in itself. However, despite that, the ace who’s been holding the fort for quite some time for the Dodgers is under the radar now. Guess why?

Well, the Los Angeles Dodgers are heavily dependent upon their pitcher, Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Despite showing some good signs this season thus far, the pitcher’s performance hasn’t gone the way as expected. With the Dodgers preventing the sweep in the World Series rematch, Yamamoto was able to pitch for only 3 2/3 innings, which was the shortest this season. But what was more concerning was that he allowed four earned runs and gave away seven hits, too.

Now, in the post-game conference, discussing the struggles that Yamamoto is facing, manager Dave Roberts said, “He wasn’t great today. I think he just was out of sync from the get-go, um. I don’t know; it was just certainly the command wasn’t there with, you know, any of his pitches, so just really uncharacteristic.” There was a noticeable lack of command with several pitches that Yoshinobu Yamamoto threw. The downside was also his failure to execute fastballs and splitters.

And as expected, the Dodgers ace was roughed up by the Yankees, wasn’t he?

With two runners on the bases and two outs, Yoshinobu Yamamoto was called to throw a pitch in the third. But the Yankees’ Anthony Volpe managed to score against him, allowing Yamamoto to walk three and striking out only two. It was one of the worst outings he had this season. Frustrated with his lack of control over the pitches, Yamamoto said, “I couldn’t really control my pitches from the beginning. I tried to regroup, but I didn’t pitch well until the end. It’s very frustrating.”

It’s true that a lot of pitches went out of the hand and the fastballs were missing from his end, too. We aren’t saying he is bad, but yes, there were some areas that required close inspection. Dave Roberts further, stressing the struggles, said, “I mean, off the top of my head, I think there’ve been three outings like that this year, so certainly a lot better than the ones like this, but yeah, there have been a few like this one.”

Obviously, Yamamoto struggled, but the expectations haven’t yet dwindled. Given that he has been considered one of the Dodgers’ most valuable players, it will not be long before we witness him working his magic on the mound once more. Not to mention that Yamamoto has averaged at least six innings in the last nine innings, whereas the majority of the Dodgers’ starters are ranked last in terms of innings pitched.

Despite persistent struggles, why is Yamamoto considered a Dodgers MVP?

It may sound harsh to many, but not many have excelled like the way Yoshinobu Yamamoto did. Despite the Dodgers’ rotation being plagued by injuries and inconsistency in pitchers’ performances, Yamamoto’s presence is nothing short of a blessing. And why not?

In this 2025 season, Yoshinobu Yamamoto went 6-4 with a 2.39 ERA, 12 G, 67.2 IP, and made 77 strikeouts at a 1.00 WHIP. The Los Angeles Dodgers have immense faith in the starter and that’s probably why he has secured one of the biggest deals as a pitcher in the history of MLB.

Heaping praise on Yamamoto, Dave Roberts said, “On the pitching side, just to be able to log six or seven innings and kind of reset your pen, giving us a good chance to win every time he goes out there, has been huge. And I feel very confident in calling him the staff ace.” Roberts has got a point, though. For the Dodgers, no one has managed to pitch at least six innings. And here, Yamamoto, in seven out of 11 starts, has managed to do so, and that too with three quality starts. Can you imagine?

So, irrespective of the struggles Yoshinobu Yamamoto faced when facing the Yankees’ hitters, blame it on his lack of control over his pitches; he surely is one of the most valuable assets. We all hope that he gradually gets into sync and manages to pitch perfectly and strike out more batters in the upcoming games.

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