Blake Snell drops 1-word verdict on Yoshinobu Yamamoto's outing against Cubs

Modified Apr 12, 2025 07:57 GMT

Blake Snell was in awe of Yoshinobu Yamamoto's performance versus the Cubs (Getty)

Two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell was in awe of Dodgers teammate Yoshinobu Yamamoto following his outing against the Chicago Cubs. After a rough stretch during the team's East Coast road trip, the reigning champions, led by Yamamoto, shut down the high-octane Cubs offense.

The three-time Eiji Sawamura Awardee gave up just two base hits and a walk while striking out nine batters in his six-inning appearance. For context, the Cubs were leading the majors both in runs scored and runs batted in before the game commenced.

Blake Snell praised Yamamoto's performance (snellzilla4/Instagram)

Snell shared a photo of Yoshinobu Yamamoto delivering a pitch to the Cubs that he labeled "nasty".

Yamamoto was given the win after his dominant performance against the red-hot Cubs. As for Snell, he would have to wait to be reactivated as he was placed on the 15-day injured list on April 6 after an inflammation in his throwing shoulder.

Dodgers bounce back with Yoshinobu Yamamoto masterclass

The Los Angeles Dodgers finally bounced back after losing back-to-back three-game series to both the Phillies and Nationals. The reigning World Series champions shut down the Chicago Cubs squad in the opening game of their three-game series, 3-0.

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Yamamoto iced the Chicago Cubs offense to two base hits in the highly-anticipated rematch of the Tokyo Series. The only offense that the visitors could muster up was a double from star slugger Kyle Tucker and a single from Seiya Suzuki.

The Dodgers didn't look up to speed either, but just did enough to manufacture runs. Tommy Edman's three-run shot in the bottom of the sixth was the sole run-scoring hit that the otherwise powerhouse batting lineup produced.

With the blast, Edman tied Aaron Judge, Kyle Schwarber, Mike Trout and Tyler Soderstrom for the MLB home run lead with six.

Yamamoto earned his second win in three starts while reducing his ERA to an impressive 1.23. Cubs starter Matthew Boyd, meanwhile, incurred the loss after surrendering the home run to Edman.

About the author

Daniel Santiago is a journalist who has been reporting on baseball at Sportskeeda since 2022. He was drawn towards the sport after the underlying statistics and the analysis surrounding it grabbed his attention.

Daniel particularly enjoys furnishing reports about historic events in baseball and analyzing the game through a statistic-based outlook, based on Fangraphs and Baseball-Reference. This is in line with how he enjoyed watching baseball as a pastime. As a writer, he is very particular about cross-checking from reputable sources and doing his due diligence.

He became a lifelong Hideki Matsui fan after his exploits in the 2009 World Series for the New York Yankees. Among the current generation, Daniel's favorites include Shohei Ohtani and Jung Hoo Lee. Daniel is a huge follower of Asian baseball and both Ohtani and Lee have been in the top echelon of their respective leagues during their time with the NPB and KBO.

His favorite moment as a baseball fan was the final at-bat of the 2023 World Baseball Classic between Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout. He believes there aren't many words to fittingly describe the intensity of the moment.

As an avid sports fan, Daniel watches other sports and Esports when not writing about baseball.

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Edited by Daniel Santiago