PHOENIX — Dodgers right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto went into his final start of the spring with a focus on throwing first-pitch strikes, while also hoping to test his composure with men on base.
He achieved both Friday, limiting the traveling half of the Padres’ split squad to three hits in five scoreless innings. The next time Yamamoto takes the mound for a game, it’ll be on opening day at Dodger Stadium against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday.
“There were a few things I wanted to try,” Yamamoto said through an interpreter after his part of the Dodgers’ 4-3 win. “And [Friday] I was able to get into the game very nicely.”
The game featured a possible preview of the Dodger’s opening-day lineup — “I don’t know, we’ll see, it’s some good players,” manager Dave Roberts said with a smile.
Few roster decisions remained, after camp cuts Wednesday included right-handers Kyle Hurt and River Ryan, and infielder Ryan Fitzgerald.
“They’re always difficult with guys hoping, expecting to break with us,” Roberts said of his conversations with cut players. “There’s obviously some good ones where you tell a guy that he’s going to make the club. But I think the main thing that just shouldn’t get lost is, it’s not always just about starting. It’s where you finish.”
As of Friday, Hyeseong Kim and Alex Freeland were still locked in a second-base battle. And the Dodgers had to sort out roles at the back end of the rotation.
Roberts said he expected to carry a swingman who would likely pitch multiple innings out of the bullpen early in the season, when the Dodgers’ schedule includes frequent off days, and later serve as a sixth starter.
Yamamoto, however, had been the clear choice to lead the rotation, long before Roberts made it official Monday.
“It’ll be nice to hand the ball to him and it’s not an elimination game,” Roberts said, referencing Yamamoto’s World Series MVP performance. “That’ll be fun for me.”
Coming off pitching meaningful games in the World Baseball Classic, Yamamoto had one last chance Friday for a tune-up.
He struck out the first three batters he faced, with first-pitch strikes to each.
The next inning, Yamamoto gave up back-to-back one-out singles. He escaped the jam with two more strikeouts. Yamamoto tallied seven strikeouts in an overall smooth performance.
“He came out, really, with a purpose,” Roberts said. “And I thought everything looked good, the fastball — the life to it, the command of it — the cutter, slider, curve ball was good, the split, everything was good. And very efficient. And pretty effortlessly got through five innings, so that was really good to see.”
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