To say that 25-year-old right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto got off to a bit of a rough start after signing his 12 year/$325 million contract with the Dodgers on December 27, 2023 would be extremely kind.

Truth be told, after signing the longest and most lucrative contract in Major League Baseball history (so far), and after his rocky Dodgers debut against the San Diego Padres on March 21 in Seoul, South Korea in which he allowed five earned runs on four hits with one walk and two strikeouts in one inning pitched and left South Korea’s capital city with a horrific 45.00 ERA, a good many Dodgers fans began questioning and were openly critical of Yamamoto and of Dodgers President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman‘s for signing the former Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) superstar to that insane contract.

Although the very hard throwing Bizen, Japan native didn’t allow a run and surrendered only two hits in his Dodger Stadium debut against the St. Louis Cardinals on March 30 during which he struck out five and walked none in his 5.0 innings pitched, he still suffered his second loss of the young season and still had an ugly 7.50 ERA.

And then came his first real road trip, an afternoon start against the Chicago Cubs at The Friendly Confines on Friday, when the real Yoshinobu Yamamoto finally showed up, causing a number of those critical Dodger fans to back off Yamamoto – and Andrew Friedman.

In his 5.0 innings pitched against the the North Siders on Friday, Yamamoto allowed no runs and only three hits, while striking out eight and walking two en route to his first Dodgers – and MLB – win.

It gets better.

In the first and second innings, Yamamoto pitched his way out of back-to-back bases loaded jams, including striking out always-dangerous former Dodger Cody Bellinger for the third out of the second inning in the Dodgers eventual 4-1 win over the Cubs.

“My last outing was also good even though I did not get the win. But today I think I did great, and I’m very happy,” Yamamoto said postgame through an interpreter about his first MLB win.

“Well, I think he just didn’t want a repeat of Seoul. You could see it,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of Yamamoto’s first win. “He got off to a slower start there and he found a way to reach back and obviously limit or have no damage in that inning. For him to hold his stuff, his stuff was still good at 81 pitches in the fifth inning. There’s just a lot of fight. Great competitor.”

Of course, that win never would have happened without those four runs, two of which were driven in on a clutch two-out fifth-inning single off of Wrigley’s right field bricks by Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy to give Yamamoto and the Dodgers a then 3-0 lead.

Like Yamamoto, Muncy has also had his struggles in the early goings. Although the popular 33-year-old Midland, TX native currently boasts an impressive .286 batting average and has now driven in seven runs in the 11 games in which he has appeared, he has also struck out a team-leading 21 time this season.

Whether Yamamoto’s and Muncy’s recent successes are an indication that their struggles are now behind them remains to be seen. But it’s definitely safe to say “Thanks. We needed that,” about the pair.

Play Ball!

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