When a team like the Los Angeles Dodgers has so much talent that they have All-Stars coming out of their ears, you expect to see a lot of crooked numbers on the scoreboard.
After all, the Dodgers lead the league in home runs (41), and are in the top 10 in runs scored (116), RBI (113), and slugging percentage (.421). The Dodgers should have no problem scoring runs.
But when Yoshinobu Yamamoto is on the mound, the Dodgers’ bats disappear quicker than a toupee in a hurricane.
LA’s lack of offensive production showed up once again on Friday night against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Yamamoto went five innings and allowed just one run despite walking four batters in the Dodgers’ 3-0 loss to the Buccos.
While Paul Skenes deserves a heap of credit for shutting down the Dodgers’ lineup, this is hardly the first time Yamamoto has been left holding the L after keeping the scoreboard clean.
The Dodgers have scored a grand total of four runs through the first four innings in all six of Yamamoto’s starts this season. LA is wasting some of their best starts in the most indefensible manner imaginable.
LA Dodgers are absolutely wasting Yoshinobu Yamamoto gems in 2025
Yamamoto is receiving just 3.33 runs of support this season and is 4-2 in those games thanks to his remarkably low 1.06 ERA.
Yamamoto has 43 punchouts in 34 innings of work, but the Dodgers’ starter is going to need more from his supporting cast in order to pile up more wins.
In both of Yamamoto’s losses, LA has combined scored two total runs. Only New York Mets’ starter Tylor Megill has been the hard-luck loser more often, as he’s receiving only 3.2 runs per start while posting an impressive 1.09 ERA in five outings.
The Dodgers’ lineup needs to start living up to the standard they’ve set for themselves when Yamamoto is not on the hill. In the Dodgers’ 20 games this season in which Yamamoto is not the starting pitcher, LA averages 4.8 runs per game.
Giving Yamamoto that type of cushion could do wonders for the starter and help Los Angeles avoid the type of embarrassing losses that they endured on Friday night at the hands of the lowly Pirates.
