Yamamoto Yoshinobu’s Quality Start: Why Did the Dodgers Lose Despite Stellar Performance?

Daniel Kim 2026.05.20 Views

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[MyDaily = Reporter Shim Hye-jin] LA Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto was charged with the loss despite delivering a Quality Start Plus, after allowing a home run for the fourth consecutive game.

Yamamoto took the mound on May 19 (Korean time) at Petco Park in San Diego for the Dodgers’ 2026 matchup with the San Diego Padres. He worked seven innings, yielding three hits (one home run), issuing two walks, striking out eight and allowing one run.

The only run came in the first inning. After retiring Fernando Tatis Jr. on a lineout to shortstop, Miguel Andújar launched a solo homer. On a 2-2 count, Andújar drove Yamamoto’s fifth pitch—a 92-mph splitter—over the left-field wall. Yamamoto then struck out Gavin Sheets, walked Manny Machado and got Xander Bogaerts to fly out to right to end the inning.

He settled in during the second, retiring the side on two groundouts and a strikeout in a tidy six-pitch frame.

In the third, with two outs, he allowed a one-out single to Andújar but closed the inning when Sheets grounded out to shortstop.

Yamamoto retired the side in order in the fourth. In the fifth, after two outs he walked Durán but escaped the jam by striking out Tatis Jr.

He returned for the sixth and picked up two more strikeouts to maintain his rhythm. The seventh presented another scare: after allowing an infield hit to Bogaerts, Yamamoto induced Jackson Merrill into a grounder to second that retired the lead runner—on a play highlighted by second baseman Kim Hye-sung, who made a difficult bound play and threw to second. Yamamoto applauded Kim for the play. Merrill then stole second, but Yamamoto struck out Castellanos and got Roriano to ground out to end the threat.

That was the end of his outing. Kyle Hurt came on in the eighth to finish the game.

The Dodgers lost 0-1, unable to overcome the first-inning solo shot. Los Angeles managed five hits but failed to score, and Yamamoto absorbed his fourth loss of the season. His ERA fell to 3.32.

Yamamoto called that pitch a frustrating mistake. \”I was a little tense in the first inning,\” he said after the game. \”After that I focused on the balance and timing of my delivery. From the second inning on I pitched well, but that was a really frustrating mistake.\”

On allowing first-inning runs in four of his nine starts this season, he acknowledged the pattern: \”That was a problem again today. The game was decided by one run, so it’s something I still need to fix.\”

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