For five innings on Saturday night, Yoshinobu Yamamoto looked like the guy the Dodgers paid all that money for. Then the sixth inning happened, and it got ugly fast.
Yamamoto matched a career-worst mark by giving up six earned runs in a 9-2 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks at Dodger Stadium. The right-hander walked four batters over 103 pitches, tied his season high in free passes, and saw his ERA jump from 2.49 to 2.85 in a single outing. The Dodgers dropped to 61-35 and lost a second straight blowout after Friday’s 9-3 defeat. It’s the first time this season they’ve lost back-to-back games by six or more runs.
The meltdown came out of nowhere
Yamamoto cruised through five innings, allowing just one run on Tim Tawa’s RBI fielder’s choice. Then he opened the sixth with a leadoff walk, and everything fell apart. Max Kepler hit a sacrifice fly. James McCann crushed a three-run homer to blow the game open. By the time the inning ended, Arizona had hung five runs on the board and turned a tight game into a laugher.
The six earned runs tied the worst mark of Yamamoto’s professional career. His streak of five straight quality starts, which included two outings of at least eight innings, came to an abrupt end. He’ll head into the All-Star break with a team-leading 110.2 innings pitched.
The offense couldn’t rescue him
Los Angeles finally answered in the bottom of the sixth. Andy Pages drove in Tommy Edman with an RBI single, and Mookie Betts added another run-scoring hit after Freddie Freeman kept the inning alive. That was all the Dodgers could manage. Diamondbacks starter Brandon Pfaadt improved to 3-1, allowing two runs on six hits over 5.1 innings without walking anyone.
Arizona kept piling on after Yamamoto departed. Landon Knack made his season debut, working three innings of relief but giving up three more runs on four hits. Kepler added another sacrifice fly. Nolan Arenado and McCann each homered. McCann finished with two home runs and four RBIs, his first long balls of the season.
Dave Roberts confirmed before the game that Yamamoto, a second straight All-Star selection, will attend the festivities in Philadelphia but won’t pitch in Tuesday’s All-Star Game. Shohei Ohtani also won’t appear. Justin Wrobleski is the Dodgers’ only scheduled pitcher for the game.
Los Angeles wraps up the first half Sunday with Emmet Sheehan facing Arizona lefty Mitch Bratt.
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