Just over five months after Yoshinobu Yamamoto left the Yankees for the Dodgers, the Japanese ace is back with the Dodgers.
He showed the Yankees exactly what they were missing.
Yamamoto pitched seven scoreless innings on Friday night, allowing just two hits and walking two while striking out seven, and the Dodgers won 2-1 in 11 innings.
He lowered his season ERA to 3.00.
“We knew this match would attract more attention than any other. [games]”I just tried to do what I’ve always done, just like in any other match,” Yamamoto said through an interpreter.
Despite the Yankees being on a roll with an eight-game winning streak, Yamamoto easily outplayed an offense that entered the game as MLB’s top scorer.
The Yankees averaged 6.5 runs per game and posted a combined OPS of .812 during that span, but Yamamoto was largely unproblematic, with only two runners reaching scoring position.
However, Yamamoto did not have to deal with Juan Soto, who is recovering day-to-day with inflammation in his left forearm.
“He’s really succeeded,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said of Yamamoto. “Obviously, he came in with high expectations. He signed a big contract, he was a coveted player this winter, he was in the news a lot, everybody knows him. That’s the kind of player he is, and you want the best for him. I think he came in and lived up to the expectations that a lot of people had, which is not always easy.”
The Yankees actively tried to acquire Yamamoto last offseason.
After a successful career in Japan, Yamamoto became one of the most intriguing and highly sought-after free agent pitchers in league history before even pitching a MLB game.
Yankees general manager Brian Cashman flew to Japan in September to watch and study Yamamoto, who later pitched a no-hitter for the Orix Buffaloes.
According to The Post’s Jon Heyman, Cashman and team executives (including Boone, owner Hal Steinbrenner, team president Randy Levine and pitching coach Matt Blake) traveled to Los Angeles to meet with Yamamoto during free agency, then met again in his hometown just a week later.
But the 25-year-old Yamamoto signed a 12-year, $325 million contract with the Dodgers that includes a large amount of deferred payments.
According to Heyman, the Yankees offered Yamamoto a 10-year, $300 million contract, $25 million less than what the Dodgers were willing to pay him, but the two fewer years would result in a higher average salary.
“The Yankees are a great team,” Yamamoto said. “I appreciate that they were interested in me during my free agent negotiations. … But when I played against them, [tonight]It was just like a normal match.”
The Yankees haven’t exactly stumbled without him: As of Friday, they had the second-worst starting pitching ERA in MLB.
But Yamamoto seemed like a player worth that amount to the Dodgers.
“The atmosphere was great,” Yamamoto said. “It was a great stadium. I enjoyed the whole game.”
