Washed away the nightmare of Seoul in Tokyo.

Yamamoto took the mound as the starting pitcher in the Major League Tokyo Opening Series first game against the Chicago Cubs at Tokyo Dome on the 18th, recording 5 innings, 3 hits allowed, 1 walk, 4 strikeouts, and 1 earned run while throwing 72 pitches.

Yamamoto, who became the first in Japan to achieve 4 championships for 3 consecutive years and also won the Sawamura Award, signed a large contract worth $325 million over 12 years last year with the Dodgers. However, he struggled with shoulder injuries last year, recording 7 wins and 2 losses with an earned run average of 3.00 (90 innings, 30 earned runs) and 105 strikeouts in 18 games. Yamamoto also took the mound in the opening series last year, where he struggled as the starting pitcher in the second game of the Seoul Opening Series at Gocheok Sky Dome, allowing 4 hits, 1 walk, and 5 earned runs while recording 2 strikeouts in 1 inning.

Yamamoto started the first inning against IAAN with a pitch clock violation ball. He allowed a walk to IAAN. Seiya Suzuki caught a shallow pop fly to the shortstop, and Kyle Tucker grounded out to the pitcher, while Michael Bush was handled with a pop fly to center field to complete the first inning.

In the second inning, he dealt with lead-off batter Matt Show with a ground ball to second base. He allowed a single to Dansby Swanson, which was his first hit of the Major League season. He got Pete Crow-Armstrong out with a ground ball to second base, setting up two outs on second base. However, he allowed Miguel Amaya a timely double to right-center after throwing a 97.5 mph four-seam fastball. He struck out Jon Berti to finish the second inning.

In the third inning, he let lead-off batter IAAN reach on an infield single. Yamamoto attempted to handle the ball himself but failed. Seiya Suzuki then grounded out to the third baseman, and Kyle Tucker and Michael Bush both hit ground balls to second base, overcoming the scoring threat.

In the fourth inning, he struck out Matt Show and Dansby Swanson in succession before getting Pete Crow-Armstrong to ground out to the shortstop on the first pitch. He completed his first three-up, three-down inning.

In the fifth inning, he induced Miguel Amaya to ground out to shortstop, and Jon Berti to ground out to first base. He then struck out IAAN on a full count. He recorded 9 consecutive outs.

Yamamoto fulfilled all his duties through the fifth inning and left the mound. He used 29 four-seam fastballs, 29 splitters, 9 curveballs, 3 sinkers, 1 cutter, and 1 slider. His maximum four-seam velocity was 98.1 mph (157.9 km/h), with an average velocity of 96.8 mph (155.8 km/h); his splitter also reached a maximum of 94.1 mph (151.4 km/h) and an average of 92.4 mph (148.7 km/h). Yamamoto gave it his all.

With a lead of 3-1, he left the mound having met the conditions for victory and handed the ball over to left-hander Anthony Banda.

[OSEN]