Home Sweet Home: Yoshinobu Yamamoto Deals in Dodgers Win
The Los Angeles Dodgers returned home to face off against the Chicago Cubs after a tumultuous east coast road trip where they went 2-4. The two teams faced off for the second time in this early season, the first time being in Tokyo, Japan in the opening series of the 2025 season. The Dodgers welcomed back Freddie Freeman to the lineup after a two-week stint on the IL, not to mention it was Freeman’s bobblehead night. Meanwhile, the Cubs came into this series boasting a top-10 offense statistically.
The key focus for the Dodgers pitching staff was to contain the duo of Kyle Tucker and Seiya Suzuki. Tucker, who has been playing at an MVP level to start the year, came into this one with a batting average of .322, hitting five home runs and recording 16 RBIs. Suzuki had been at a similar pace, batting .300 with four home runs and 15 RBIs. Dodgers starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamato was up for a tall task as he has looked like an early candidate for NL Cy Young.
Yamamoto delivered on his end, going six innings, striking out nine, allowing just two hits and walking one. He holds a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 28 to seven after his start, holding onto a stellar 1.25 ERA through four starts. This one surely looked to be a pitcher duel with, Cubs starting pitcher Matthew Boyd going five scoreless, extending his scoreless inning streak to 16 innings to begin the year. It was not until the bottom of the sixth inning the Dodgers offense ended that streak.
Teoscar Hernández got things started with a one-out single, followed by Freeman getting hit by a pitch. With two on for the Dodgers, in stepped Tommy Edman, known to be a Cubs killer with 13 career home runs against them. On a 1-0 count, Edman would smack his sixth home run of the year to the left field bleachers, putting the Dodgers up 3-0 in a heartbeat. Boyd finished the rest of the inning without giving up further damage. Nonetheless, the Dodgers had their lead.
With the offense unable to come up with other ways of scoring, it was clear there was an offensive struggle tonight. Shohei Ohtani went hitless with two strikeouts, and Freeman showed some rust by going hitless as well with two strikeouts. It was safe to say it was a good night to have an off night, as the bullpen was on lockdown. The trio of Kirby Yates, Blake Treinen, and Tanner Scott held the Cubs in check, each pitching a scoreless inning, with Scott getting the save. This also capped off the Dodger’s first shutout of the year.
Rookie Roki Sasaki gets the nod for the Dodgers Saturday night, as he will be looking to get his first quality start of his career. Sasaki carries a 4.15 ERA into this start, as he has not gone more than four innings in any of his first three starts. Ben Brown will get the ball for the Cubs, as he is 1-1 with a 7.71 ERA. With the win, the Dodgers are now 7-0 at home to start the year.
