Yoshinobu Yamamoto can win the National League Cy Young Award.
The possibility of Yamamoto doing that has felt increasingly real every time he has stepped on the mound this season, reaching the point in the Dodgers’ 3-0 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Friday night to where the previously-reticent right-hander readily embraced it.
“I’ve heard no Japanese pitcher has won it yet, so I’m awfully interested in it,” Yamamoto said in Japanese. “I think that concentrating on each and every game and performing at my best is what will lead to a wonderful award like that, so I’d like to do my best every day.”
The statement was a reflection of how much has changed for the 26-year-old Yamamoto over the last year.
The apprehension he exhibited in his first major league season has been replaced by assertiveness, leading to him terrorizing hitters of whom he used to be overly respectful.
He pitched six scoreless innings against the Cubs to improve his record to 2-1 and lower his earned-run average to 1.23.
Yamamoto completely overwhelmed the Cubs, not giving up a hit until the fourth inning and not issuing a walk until the sixth. He struck out nine batters, giving him 37 punchouts in 28 innings for the season.
As reluctant as manager Dave Roberts was to compare Yamamoto to another Japanese pitcher, he said Yamamoto reminded him of Hideo Nomo because of his reliance on his fastball and splitter.
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“You have hitters guessing,” Roberts said. “It’s just a split that’s a strike, then it’s a ball that’s a swing and miss or a strikeout there. There’s a good fastball that’s commanded and that’s a lot like Hideo. He doesn’t have the tornado delivery, but it’s a lot like that.”
The start against the Cubs was noteworthy in how comfortable Yamamoto was on the mound. He looked almost as if he was toying with them.
“I think I was able to control my fastball really well and I was able to throw my breaking balls in a good zone, which allowed me to pitch in good counts,” he said. “I think that gave me a lot of options.”
Even when Kyle Tucker advanced to third base in the fourth inning, Yamamoto looked as if he was in control of the situation. Even when Michael Busch worked the count full ...
