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Yamamoto (10 K's) dazzles in 1st postseason appearance since WS G7 heroics

Yoshinobu Yamamoto made his most dominant postseason appearance since clinching Game 7 of last year’s World Series, delivering seven strong innings of one-run ball against the Atlanta Braves in NLDS Game 4. The right-hander set a new career high with 10 strikeouts—his first double-digit postseason K total—while keeping the Dodgers within striking distance of elimination.

Manager Dave Roberts entrusted Yamamoto with a full workload, refusing to overmanage despite the Braves’ early lineup shuffle after Chris Sale’s strong outing in Game 3. The only real hiccup came in the fifth, when Yamamoto allowed a run on a Drake Baldwin groundout with the bases loaded, but he otherwise remained in command.

Yamamoto’s performance marked the first time a Dodger had combined seven innings, 10-plus strikeouts, and one or fewer runs allowed in the postseason since Blake Snell’s standout start in last year’s NL Wild Card Series. He also joined Shohei Ohtani and Hiroki Kuroda as the third Japanese-born pitcher to reach double-digit strikeouts in a postseason game.

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