How Yamamoto’s Return Will Bolster Dodgers’ Playoff Run
The Dodgers have been faced with different obstacles at different points throughout the season, yet still trail the Phillies for the top spot in the National League by just one game. Injuries have decimated this team as plenty of their stars have missed time at different parts of the season. The pitching rotation has been the most decimated by injury. After losing Tony Gonsolin to Tommy John surgery and Dustin May with a forearm strain, Clayton Kershaw and Tyler Glasnow have also missed periods of this season due to IL stints. That’s not all, as we have yet to see Emmet Sheehan this season, as well as Gavin Stone and River Ryan also going down to injury. One of the more notable injuries was Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the Japanese phenomenon, who had all the hype surrounding him when the Dodgers signed him.
Yamamoto returned from injury after missing almost three months with tricep tightness. He faced off against another rookie pitcher who came over from Japan, Shota Imanaga. Yamamoto was stellar in his return, though pitching just four innings but striking out eight, and allowing one earned run on just four hits. This start was enough to propel the Dodgers to get off to a three-to-one lead against the Chicago Cubs. Unfortunately, after bullpen struggles, the Cubs rallied in the eighth, tallying five runs off RBIs from four different players. The Dodgers look to hopefully take this series finale on Wednesday before heading to Atlanta to face the Braves. The Cubs will stay on the road to face the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field.
The Dodgers are still yet to clinch an official playoff spot as their division of the National League West is one of the more competitive divisions in Major League Baseball. The Padres and Diamondbacks both trail the Dodgers by four and a half and five games respectively. Yamamoto can help bolster the chances of clinching the divisional title if he continues to make strides and be the ace in a true time of need for the Dodgers. There is a chance we could get to see both Glasnow and Kershaw back for the Dodgers as well, which would make their playoff rotation nearly unstoppable. Yamamoto hopes to keep progressing and improving on his stellar performance in his first start back from the injured list.
