Yoshinobu Yamamoto sharp after rocky debut, but Dodgers lose - ESPN

LOS ANGELES — Yoshinobu Yamamoto's debut with the Los Angeles Dodgers, on the heels of attaining the largest contract ever for a starting pitcher, lasted only one inning and saw him get charged with five earned runs, nearly a quarter of his total through an entire prior season in Japan. It followed two rough outings in spring training, casting early doubt on Yamamoto's ability to transition to the world's most advanced baseball league in the United States.

«There's a lot of confidence and there's a lot of pride and fire,» Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of Yamamoto, an athlete he is still learning. «And appreciating the contract and his part of the deal — I think he takes it personal. And took it personal. He was really intent on pitching well for his home debut.»

Yamamoto, making his second start nine days after a nightmare opener from South Korea, kept the St. Louis Cardinals scoreless through five mostly dominant innings on Saturday night and would have pitched deeper into the game if not for the 35-minute rain delay that occurred after the fourth.

Dodgers reliever Joe Kelly allowed five runs in the top of the seventh and Shohei Ohtani flied out with his team trailing by one and the bases loaded in the bottom of the 10th, prompting a 6-5 loss — but the encouragement around Yamamoto's start overcame all of that.

Yamamoto, speaking through an interpreter, said he felt like he «had my stuff back.» He added that he didn't make many adjustments heading in but was simply «calm today.»

«You hate to admit it or say it, but I think it was more nerves than anything,» Dodgers assistant pitching coach Connor McGuiness said of the struggles around his first start. «For him to kind of be able to get through that and experience