Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s Toronto return brings another Dodgers win

Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitched six innings against the Blue Jays on Tuesday. (Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers)

by Megan Garcia

When 2025 World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s name was penciled in for Tuesday’s start in the Dodgers’ Fall Classic rematch with the Blue Jays, it brought an obvious question.

Encore?

Just like the World Series, Yamamoto shut down the Blue Jays again. His six-inning performance led the Dodgers to a 4–1 win.

“He had command of everything,” said manager Dave Roberts. “He got those guys in a swing mode kind of situation. They didn’t want to get into counts. You saw they were aggressive, which helped the efficiency. He threw the baseball really well.”

The Blue Jays chased at a 30% clip in the rematch against Yamamoto. Entering Tuesday, Toronto’s 33.3% chase rate ranked as the third-highest in baseball to begin the season.

Yamamoto surpassed his strikeout total from his April 1 start by the first inning. He had only two strikeouts in his start against the Guardians last week.

He finished with six strikeouts, one walk and five hits against the Blue Jays.

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“Since yesterday, I started feeling (good). I was able to carry that into today’s game,” Yamamoto said. “I was able to control my pitches, both fastball and off-speed.”

Yamamoto retired 14 of his first 15 batters through five innings. His command faltered in the sixth as six hitters reached against him. The damage was minimal, with only one run scoring.

Yamamoto was pulled in the seventh after a double and a single started the frame. Reliever Alex Vesia shut down the Blue Jays with the bases loaded, keeping Yamamoto’s line intact for the win.

“I was off from the stretch and that’s something I need to clean up for the next outing,” Yamamoto said of the sixth. “I wanted to complete the seventh inning, but I allowed a leadoff (hit) and a (walk).”

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Alex Freeland led the offense with three hits and an RBI in the win. The top of the order (Shohei Ohtani, Kyle Tucker and Will Smith) each drove in a run against the Blue Jays ‘pitching staff.

The Dodgers are now 5–0 on their first road trip of the season.