Los Angeles Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto was named the National League Pitcher of the Month, it was announced on Friday, May 2.
Yamamoto (3-2), who made six starts in March and April to open the 2025 season, leads Major League Baseball starters with a 1.06 ERA. He's held foes to a .190 batting average entering May.
What's more, he's averaging 11.4 strikeouts per nine innings.
In 34 innings, Yamamoto has recorded 43 strikeouts and issued 11 waks. He's allowed 23 hits and only four earned runs.
Only once has a team scored more than one run against him so far this campaign. The Detroit Tigers hit a pair of solo home runs off Yamamoto in his five-inning stint on March 28 at Dodger Stadium. He got the no-decision in LA's 8-5 triumph in 10 innings.
In one of Yamamoto's stellar appearances early in the season, he allowed five hits in seven scoreless innings against the Texas Rangers on April 18 in the Dodgers' 3-0 road win. And Yamamoto fanned 10 batters, tying his MLB career-best total.
"I put my mind in order before taking the mound," Yamamoto said, explaining his singular focus, according to Kyodo News.
He continued: "It was great to be able to pitch through the seventh inning. I've been able to display a wider repertoire of pitches. I'm still aiming to improve further."
In Praise of Yoshinobu Yamamoto
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was impressed with Yamamoto's aforementioned performance against the Rangers, a game in which his pitching counterpart was two-time NL Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom.
"Man, he was good tonight, [facing] a really good team, a good lineup," Roberts said of Yamamoto in a postgame press conference. "He just had his entire pitch mix working, he elevated his game to another level."
Commenting about Yamamoto's work ethic and desire to pitch deep in games, Roberts said, "[He has] a lot of pride. I think he's never looking to come out of a game and he always feels that he's the best option…"
Clearly, Roberts added, Yamamoto is now fully acclimated to the major leagues in his second season with the Dodgers.
"I think there's no more unknown being here in the [United] States, understanding how his stuff plays against major league hitters, the surroundings, his environment and then with all that the confidence, it's real," Roberts told reporters.
The two-time World Series-winning skipper then said, "I just think that he's got so much conviction with every throw, every pitch that he makes, and there's just no more doubt."
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Author: Ed Odeven
Find Ed on JAPAN Forward's dedicated website, SportsLook. Follow his [Japan Sports Notebook] on Sundays, [Odds and Evens] during the week, and X (formerly Twitter) ＠ed_odeven.
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