ATLANTA — Yoshinobu Yamamoto invited danger on Monday night, but the Atlanta Braves could not punish him. Over four innings, Yamamoto allowed the leadoff batter to reach safely four times. Thrice, he had a runner on third base with fewer than two outs. His command of his splitter was in and out.
Zero runs scored. Another test was passed, as the Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander pushed his pitch count to 72. The Dodgers are content to let Yamamoto build up by pitching in big-league games because they have few alternatives and because Yamamoto might be their best chance at having a difference-maker in their rotation in October.
Monday could be considered a success long before the Dodgers pulled away for a 9-0 win to salvage a series split. Yamamoto lacked the precise command of his previous start, on Sept. 10, when he made a glittering return off the injured list. While he held his velocity Monday, his arsenal was largely pared down, relying on his cutter when his splitter wasn’t right and even breaking out two sliders late in counts toward the end of the outing.
“I have not gotten perfect encouragement or confidence yet, but overall the last two games gave me a pointer for the next couple outings,” Yamamoto said through interpreter Yoshihiro Sonoda.
If the Dodgers wind up anywhere significant next month, much will depend on Yamamoto’s right arm. How frequently they’ll be able to use Yamamoto will not change in the playoffs: Manager Dave Roberts said Monday that Yamamoto would continue to pitch on extra rest even into the postseason, ruling out starts on regular rest (much less short rest) for a Dodgers pitching staff already scrambling to figure out how their starters will line up for the postseason.
“This is something that when we acquired him this is something we planned on doing,” Roberts said. “It’s kind of where we’re at. We’ve got to figure out how best to keep him fresh, sharp, prepared, number one. Then number two, fill in the pieces.”
The Dodgers won, 9-0. They are 89-61. The division lead is 4 (pending the SD result). If the MIL-PHI score holds, they’re one game back of the No. 1 seed.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto went four scoreless. The Dodgers’ bats broke through. They salvage a split.
Time of game: 2:37.
— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) September 17, 2024
On paper, it means the Dodgers have limited use of the two healthy starters (Yamamoto and Jack Flaherty) they have locked down in their October rotation. But the ramifications aren’t that severe given how the schedule lays out for the National League this postseason. It effectively limits Yamamoto to pitching once during the NLDS (unless he starts Game 1, limiting how the Dodgers would use Flaherty in the process), and travel days allow him to pitch twice in a best-of-seven set in the ensuing rounds.
Adjusting to “regular” rest will be a dilemma for not just Yamamoto, but the rest of a Dodgers rotation that has gone toward a quasi-six-man rotation this season. This was by design, allowing Yamamoto — who essentially pitched once a week in Japan — to acclimate, while also seeking (unsuccessfully) to keep several of their other starters healthy.
Of Yamamoto’s 16 starts this season, exactly half have been on five days of rest, with the others coming on six or more. A midseason stint on the injured list for a strained rotator cuff hasn’t helped any potential push to integrate Yamamoto into a more typical schedule.
“Maybe, if we would have been able to keep him healthy and work him into some situation like that,” Roberts said. “It wasn’t to be. So again, if something presents itself, if we’re fortunate enough to get to the postseason in that situation and it makes sense, it’s a conversation. But that’s not something we’re planning on right now.”
A lineup tweak
Early this spring, Roberts quipped about the luxury he holds over the rest of baseball’s 29 big-league managers. He had the chance to roll out a lineup with three MVPs and whatever alignment he chose would probably serve itself well.
Now, there’s a chance those MVPs — Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman — won’t be the top three hitters in the order in October, at least against left-handed pitching.
Freeman hit fourth on Saturday night as the Braves started NL Cy Young Award front-runner (and left-hander) Chris Sale, his first time hitting cleanup since 2016. He slotted in behind Ohtani, Betts and Teoscar Hernández. He hit fourth again on Monday, as left-hander Max Fried toed the rubber for Atlanta.
Expect that to continue.
“It’s no secret that any team that’s going to try to beat us is going to stockpile some lefties to minimize Shohei and Freddie,” Roberts said. “That’s just a way that I can counter a little bit.”
The counter will require potential postseason lefties such as Sale, Fried, Ranger Suárez, Cristopher Sanchez, Sean Manaea and Eduardo Rodriguez to contend with Hernández, who entered Monday with a .968 OPS against left-handed pitching this season.
“I kinda like it,” Freeman said after slugging a three-run homer on Monday. “It puts them in a tough matchup because if they bring in a lefty for Shohei, that means Mookie and Teo have to face left-handed pitching. It’s tougher matchups we’re trying to create throughout the course of a game to make it harder on managers.”
Daniel Hudson’s impactful year
When Daniel Hudson returned to the visiting clubhouse on Friday night, a text message from his wife, Sara, awaited him. Returning to Truist Park reopens some wounds; this weekend marked Hudson’s first return trip here since he crumpled to the ground with a torn ACL. That night, June 24, 2022, was nearly 10 years to the day (June 26, 2012) when his elbow gave way for the first of his two Tommy John surgeries — and it happened in Atlanta, at Turner Field. His combined career ERA between the two ballparks entering Monday sat at 7.94 in 22 2/3 innings.
“Just coming here for whatever reason, I just kind of got my ass kicked,” Hudson said. “I told somebody I got bad juju here.”
So when Hudson checked his phone after throwing a scoreless inning earlier in the night, he found a GIF from his wife, poking fun at him about making it through the night unscathed. He couldn’t help but chuckle.
“That’s a little hurdle to get over,” Hudson said.
He tossed another scoreless inning on Monday, lowering his season ERA to 2.48. He’s thrown more innings this year (58) than any season since 2019 when he was the man to record the final out of the World Series. At 37 years old with a twice-repaired elbow and with surgeries on each of his knees over the last 24 months, Hudson looks like one of the stealthiest acquisitions of a billion-dollar offseason. After months of contemplating retirement, Hudson signed a minor-league deal to return to the Dodgers, with the same guarantee — $2 million — they’re paying Ohtani this season and an invaluable role in the Dodgers’ bullpen.
Among relievers on the roster, only Alex Vesia has thrown more innings. And in a season of flux, Hudson has remained a largely steady contributor. His knees still ache. He’s worked to try to realign his mechanics after entering Monday with a 4.42 ERA since the All-Star break.
Yet, this has gone better than even Hudson could’ve reasonably expected. Twice in as many seasons, he’s stood with tears in his eyes and discussed a season ripped from his control. Each time, he came back.
Given the potential to choose his path for next year and beyond? That’s a decision for another day.
“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there,” Hudson said. “I kind of went into the last contract thinking that was probably gonna be it. Once I figured out I wanted to give it another shot, we’re just kind of taking it year by year, kind of listening to where we’re at at the end of the season.”
(Photo of Yoshinobu Yamamoto: Todd Kirkland / Getty Images)
