Dodgers Interview: Roberts has nothing but praise for Yoshi’s masterpiece
TORONTO — The Dodgers got the start they need from Yoshinobu Yamamoto and then some. He pitched a complete game four-hitter and beat back a powerful Blue Jays lineup, and left his manager with some very easy decisions for the rest of the game.
“Outstanding, uber competitive, special,” skipper Dave Roberts said of Yamamoto’s second straight postseason complete game. “He was just locked in tonight. It was one of those things he said before the series, losing is not an option, and he had that look tonight.” Asked about the pitch mix as the game unfolded, he added, “That was more of a feel, read and react thing. The great thing about Yoshi is he has four pitches to get lefties out, righties out, and you’re reading hitters and making adjustments. I thought Will Smith did a fantastic job. I thought Mark Prior did a great job game planning and Yoshi executed.”
Roberts pointed to Yamamoto’s history in big spots as a backbone for nights like this. “He’s pitched in huge ball games in Japan. He’s pitched in the WBC, and players that have the weight of a country on their shoulders, that’s pressure,” Roberts said. “I just feel that part of his DNA is to perform at a high level in big spots and control his heartbeat and continue to make pitches.” As the game tightened, the manager never saw the right-hander waver. “After that first inning, I was thinking six. I felt he would find a way to get through six. It’s an aggressive swinging team. I thought the stuff was good. The pitch count stayed where it needed to stay. I didn’t see anything fall off as far as his delivery and the execution.” On sending him back out for the ninth: “It was a no-brainer.”
The game finally cracked in the middle innings, and Roberts described the release everyone in the dugout felt. “Huge relief,” he said of Will Smith’s blast. “Goss was throwing the baseball really well. We were in between offensively with the fastball, and when Will got into that 3–2 count, just missed the 3–1 heater, and then they went to the well again and he hit a homer and there was complete elation. We felt that the way Yamamoto was throwing runs were going to be hard to come by, and when Max backed it with another homer, huge relief, and then to build an inning after that was big.”
Smith’s night was a thread through Roberts’ presser. “Last year he was banged up and wasn’t playing well in September and through the postseason,” Roberts said. “This year, certainly managing his workload, and then he fractures his hand, and I think the last week off got him over the hump. It was the first time in a while he’s pulled a ball like that, so I think that’s part of the healing process.” The manager likes where his catcher sits now. “Absolutely, and the catching is such a demanding position, but I think overall mental clarity, the body’s fresh.” The growth goes beyond the swing. “I think the game calling, the relationship with the pitchers has continued to get better. He’s always had the bat to ball, the ability to hit to all fields, the ability to hit versus left, versus right. He understands when to pick his spots. He does his homework, and at the end of the day he’s a guy that just doesn’t panic. He’s really got a flatline heartbeat and in the postseason that’s what you need.”
There was a historical note to the night, and Roberts didn’t shy from it. “Yes,” he said when asked if Yamamoto felt like a throwback. “You look at Yamamoto, it’s kind of the throwback in the sense of when he starts a game, he expects to finish it, and he’ll go as long as I let him, but that’s his intent.” He expanded on why these outings matter. “I love it. I love feeling that the starter is the best option to go six, seven, eight, and with Yamamoto nine innings. You have to be efficient. You have to have the weapons to take down the lineup three times, four times. And you have to want to do it. He is a throwback player. He works really hard in his prep and his delivery and the mindset. It’s a lot of fun to root for a guy, and you feel good about leaving a guy like that in. And he’s done it in back-to-back postseason games.”
On a night they needed an ace to look like one, Yamamoto did, and the series reset with everyone exactly where Roberts wanted them—focused on the next pitch.
Have you subscribed to the Bleed Los Podcast YouTube channel? Be sure to ring the notification bell to watch player interviews, participate in shows & promotions, and stay up to date on all Dodgers news and rumors!
