"He's an artist and pitching is his craft" - Dodgers manager Dave Roberts heaps praise on Yoshinobu Yamamoto ahead of start against Cubs

After sweeping the San Francisco Giants, the Los Angeles Dodgers are aiming for a dominating series against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. Despite Shohei Ohtani's homer, the Dodgers lost to the Cubs on Friday.

On Saturday, the stakes are high for Dodgers superstars, especially for Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the most expensive pitcher in MLB history. Initially, the game was supposed to be a duel between two Samurai Japan stars, Shota Imanaga and Yamamoto. However, Imanaga was replaced by Jordan Wicks before the game.

Even though the fans missed an exciting mound duel between two star rookies, Yamamoto's part will remain the same. Before the game, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was impressed by Yamamoto's skills, calling him an "artist" for his unique craftsmanships.

“Here's Dave Roberts pregame, impressed by the adjustments Yamamoto has made: "He’s an artist and pitching is his craft. He’s a craftsman and he takes it very seriously," ESPN's Jesse Rogers tweeted.

Today, against the Cubs' studded lineup that includes Seiya Suzuki, Cody Bellinger and Ian Happ, Yamamoto pitched five innings, striking out eight batters and giving up three hits and two walks.

The Dodgers are winning but they are not dominating

Except for their Opening Day game against the St. Louis Cardinals, the LA Dodgers haven't dominated much. In eight games, they secured victory in six. They swept the Giants in all three games, but two of those games were just a single-run difference.

They have scored 48 runs so far in the season while conceding 34. When they spent over a billion dollars to secure some of the league's names, fans and experts alike expected a dominating season from them.

Along with Ohtani, stars like Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Max Muncy are under immense pressure to perform well this year, as well as the team's pitching department. While waiting for Clayton Kershaw to return, the management decided to pair Yamamoto with Tyler Glasnow as a rotation leader.

After a rough start in the Seoul Series, where he gave away five runs in the first inning, Yamamoto recovered in the second game and pitched for five innings without conceding any runs.