Yoshinobu Yamamoto struck out two batters and pitched into the second inning in his 2025 spring training debut, part of the Dodgers’ 12-4 loss to the Cubs on Thursday at Camelback Ranch.

Yamamoto worked around two singles in the first inning thanks to two strikeouts, finishing off Vidal Bruján on a splitter and getting Nicky Lopez on a cutter.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said before the game that Yamamoto would pitch at least one inning, and that they’d try to get him into the second inning as well. After a 19-pitch first inning, Yamamoto started the second inning and got two more outs before allowing a single to Gage Workman. That ended Yamamoto’s day at 27 pitches.

Camelback Ranch has Statcast equipment installed now, so we get to see pitch and batted-ball data from games there. Yamamoto averaged 95.6 mph on his four-seam fastballs on Friday, right on his 95.5-mph average from 2024. Broken down, it was 96 mph on average for his 10 fastballs in the first inning, and 94.7 mph for four fastballs in the second.

With Yamamoto slated to start on opening day against the Cubs on March 18 in Tokyo, he has time to make three more Cactus League starts to continue to build up before the Dodgers end the Arizona portion of their spring training on March 11.

First things first

The first home run of spring training — not just the Dodgers, but MLB-wide — was hit by outfielder Eddie Rosario, who smacked a two-run shot to center field in the second inning off Cody Poteet.

The veteran Rosario is a non-roster invitee in camp after signing a minor league contract last week.

Notes

• Zyhir Hope, playing in his first game as a 20-year-old, made a pair of nice catches in left field, one coming in and diving in the fifth inning and the other crashing into the wall in the sixth.

• Bobby Miller faced only two batters in his outing. He left the game after getting hit in the head by a line drive off the bat of Michael Busch in the third inning. Manager Dave Roberts said after the game that Miller entered concussion protocol.
  Poteet made the first challenge using the ABS system, which is being tested out in the majority of MLB parks this spring. An 0-1 fastball to Max Muncy in the first inning was called low, but after review was deemed a strike.
  Dodgers minor league catcher Griffin Lockwood-Powell, a non-roster invitee in camp, batted in the seventh inning as the designated hitter. It’s moments like these that make me grateful that the full-sized lettering is back on MLB jerseys again:

Up next

The Dodgers and Cubs are back at it on Friday, this time at Sloan Park in Mesa (12:05 p.m. PT, SportsNet LA). Tony Gonsolin starts for Los Angeles, while left-hander Jordan Wicks starts for the home team.