Analysis: After picking up a win back home in Japan during the Dodgers' season-opening set against the Cubs, Yamamoto was mostly sharp in his first stateside outing, tossing 58 of 91 pitches for strikes while fanning double-digit batters for the first time in his MLB career. The right-hander did serve up solo shots to Gleyber Torres (side) and Dillon Dingler to mar his performance, however. Yamamoto will take a 2.70 ERA and 14:3 K:BB through his first 10 innings of the season into his next start, which lines up to come on the road next weekend in Philadelphia.

Analysis: The 26-year-old induced 11 swinging strikes on just 72 pitches, with the only damage against him coming via an RBI double by Miguel Amaya during the second inning. The shortness of the outing isn't surprising since the Dodgers dealt with an abbreviated spring training, and Yamamoto should be built up to a full workload before long. The right-hander struggled against the Padres during his MLB debut in South Korea nearly a year ago, but he delivered a strong start to 2025 on Tuesday while pitching in his home country of Japan.