Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s Cy Young campaign hit its first real speed bump Thursday night as the Arizona Diamondbacks took advantage of the Dodgers' ace in a 5–3 win at Chase Field to open their four-game series.
“We’ve seemed to bring out the best in them,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said earlier in the day — and that’s exactly what happened.
Coming off his sharpest outing of the year, Yamamoto struggled with command and timing, pitching on five days’ rest for the first time this season.
Arizona made him pay. Gabriel Moreno launched his first home run of the season — a grand slam in the fourth — after Yamamoto loaded the bases with no outs.
Ketel Marte, just back from a hamstring injury, followed with a solo shot in the fifth.
In just five innings, Yamamoto allowed six hits and five earned runs, ballooning his ERA from 0.90 to 1.80 and marking his shortest and roughest outing so far.
On the other side, Diamondbacks starter Brandon Pfaadt was composed and effective. He held the Dodgers to four hits through six-plus innings, escaping key jams in the first and sixth.
The Dodgers only got going in the eighth, scratching out two runs with RBI hits from Max Muncy and Andy Pages, but a sharp double play turned by Marte stopped the rally cold.
Shohei Ohtani added a solo home run in the ninth to keep things interesting, but Kevin Ginkel shut the door to seal the win.
The Dodgers will look to bounce back Friday after their top arm took an unexpected hit — and the Diamondbacks showed they still have plenty of firepower.
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