Dodgers News: Yoshinobu Yamamoto Named National League Pitcher Of The Month

LOS ANGELES, CA—While the postseason is set to begin later tonight for the Los Angeles Dodgers with the start of their three-game Wild Card Series against the Cincinnati Reds, Major League Baseball announced its monthly award, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto was named National League Pitcher of the Month for a second time this season.

Yamamoto became the first Dodgers pitcher since Clayton Kershaw in June and July 2014 to earn it multiple times in the same season. He also joined Shohei Ohtani as one of the only Dodgers players to receive monthly honors this year, with Ohtani being named NL Player of the Month for May.

Yamamoto is now among five Japanese-born pitchers to have received the award, with a total of nine wins. He joins compatriots Yu Darvish (July/August 2020, September/October 2022), Hideki Irabu (May 1998, July 1999), Hideo Nomo (June 1995, September 1996), and Masahiro Tanaka (May 2014).

Yamamoto made four appearances in September, going 1-0 with a 0.67 ERA, 0.67 WHIP, and an opponents’ batting average of .081. In one game, he almost pitched a no-hitter against the Baltimore Orioles.

Yamamoto permitted only two runs across 27 innings in his last four starts, with an average of 11.33 strikeouts per nine innings. He also became the first Dodgers pitcher since Kershaw (June 29-July 9, 2017) to record at least 10 strikeouts in three straight starts.

Yamamoto led the Majors in ERA, opponents’ batting average, and WHIP during the month. Additionally, he was one of only 10 qualified pitchers to remain undefeated in September.

Now, Yamamoto is set to build on his postseason legacy by starting Game Two for Los Angeles, which could potentially be another decisive win for the right-hander.

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