Yoshinobu Yamamoto 'better than ever' in return; Dodgers lose - ESPN

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Dodgers played one of their sloppiest defensive games of the season and watched it end on a robbed home run by Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong. But Tuesday night provided them with an unmistakable dose of optimism — Yoshinobu Yamamoto returned after a three-month hiatus, and his stuff looked as sharp as ever.

Before the Dodgers lost 6-3, dropping their division lead to 4½ games, Yamamoto limited the Cubs to only a run in four innings of work, during which he struck out eight batters. His fastball averaged more than 96 mph. His splitter and curveball looked devastating. His command was as sharp as anyone could have reasonably expected, considering he hadn't pitched in a major league game since suffering a strained rotator cuff June 15.

«It was pretty surprising,» Dodgers catcher Austin Barnes said. «I didn't know how he was gonna look coming back from this, and he looked better than ever.»

The Dodgers have been ravaged by injuries to their rotation throughout the season and entered Wednesday with only one lock, Jack Flaherty, to start games for them in October.

But then Tyler Glasnow, out since Aug. 11 with what the team has described as elbow tendinitis, threw his second bullpen session, prompting trainers to clear him for a two- to three-inning simulated game Friday.

And then Yamamoto looked a lot like the player the Dodgers imagined when they awarded him a 12-year, $325 million contract this offseason, the largest ever for a starting pitcher.

«I feel much better about the rotation tonight than I did 24 hours ago,» Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. «It's starting to turn in terms of getting back to the rotation that we had envisioned.»

Yamamoto began his outing with three