Yoshinobu Yamamoto was tasked with extending the Dodgers’ win streak to five on Saturday, but a complete lack of run support and a “lack of feel” on the mound sunk him in.
Yamamoto was tagged for three runs against the Baltimore Orioles, the first time he had given up more than one run in any start in a month, and the majority of his issues on the mound came during a 30-pitch fourth inning where he allowed a decisive two-run double to Blaze Alexander. Yamamoto admitted post-game that he wasn’t struggling
to find his splitter early in the count, which led to his inability to get hitters out efficiently, per Sonja Chen of MLB.com.
“It’s kind of really small things, very subtle in my delivery,” Yamamoto said through interpreter Yoshihiro Sonoda. “Sometimes the ball moves quick. Sometimes it’s a small movement. I was kind of looking for the right feel. That was the biggest struggle for me in today’s game.”
Shohei Ohtani was back in the lineup on Saturday after he and his wife introduced their second child the previous night. He ignited an ultimately short comeback attempt with a home run against Andrew Kittredge that put the Dodgers on the board in the bottom of the ninth inning.
Although the Dodgers were unable to rally back from down three runs, Dave Roberts noted that Ohtani’s home run gave a jolt of energy both to the rest of the lineup and the remaining fans in attendance, per Courtney Hollmon and Brian Murphy of MLB.com.
“I think it’s a big part of it,” manager Dave Roberts said postgame, when asked how much Ohtani’s home run energized the ninth-inning push. “Kittredge has a good arm, but for [Ohtani] to put us on the board, Andy [Pages] had a good at-bat, [but] [Taylor] Ward makes a great play in left-center. We created something and gave ourselves a chance.”
Manny Randhawa of MLB.com writes about a new portrait by the artist Opie Otterstad of Freddie Freeman celebrating with his father after crushing his walk-off grand slam in Game 1 of the 2024 World Series.
“It’s a moment you’ll always remember, but to have it captured in a way that Opie captured it, in a painting that’s hanging on my wall? Yeah, it’s special,” Freeman said. “Even my five-year-old walks by and says, ‘Is that you and grandpa?’”
