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Highly rated new signing Yoshinobu Yamamoto put in a strong performance on his home debut for the Los Angeles Dodgers against the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday.
The 25-year-old Japanese impressed fans and teammates over spring training before finally making his first MLB start in Dodger Stadium. His five scoreless innings left Dodgers fans singing his praise, but other MLB fans were not as impressed and made it clear on social media.
"Are we pretending Cardinals are a good team?," one tweeted.
"This is not dominating," chimed in another.
Here are some of the top reactions on X:
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Heading into the offseason last year, Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto was being monitored by several teams before being posted in the MLB market.
Having been named the MVP for the last three seasons in the NPB, the right-handed pitcher was widely considered the best pitcher outside the MLB. The Dodgers pounced on the Japanese star soon after completing the signing of his compatriot Shohei Ohtani.
Hence, there was much hype around Yamamoto even before spring training, and glimpses of his training only inceased the anticipation. He put in some impressive performances during preseason before making his Dodgers Stadium debut.
Yamamoto pitched five innings, giving up only two hits, allowing no runs and recording five strikeouts. It was a strong performance for a rookie, impressing Dodgers fans, but not everyone was as impressed.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto's Dodger Stadium debut dampened by rain and loss against the Cardinals
Yoshinobu Yamamoto's first MLB regular season game for the Los Angeles Dodgers didn't go as planned, as he struggled in a 15-11 loss to the San Diego Padres in the Seouls Series.
However, in his next outing, on his home debut, the Japanese ace put in a much better performance, throwing five scoreless innings against the St. Louis Cardinals.
Nonetheless, it was another disappointing night for the Dodgers, as the rain-interrupted game ended in a 6-5 victory for the Cardinals.
