"It wasn’t that serious before" - Yoshinobu Yamamoto reflects on his early exit from Royals game due to lingering muscle tightness

Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto left early during Saturday’s game against the Kansas City Royals at Dodger Stadium. After Yamamoto's departure, the Los Angeles Dodgers struggled, eventually leading to the team’s 7-2 loss.

In two innings he pitched, the 25-year-old threw 14 strikes out of 28 pitches before leaving the game with tricep tightness. Although it was not the first time Yamamoto felt discomfort in his triceps, he had been experiencing it for several days.

“Yes, I was feeling it, a couple days ago,” Yoshinobu Yamamoto said in the press conference. “But today that was gone, that tightness was gone. So today I was out, as during the game I started feeling tight. My tricep was tightened up. So I let coaches know and then we decided.”

During his time on the mound, Yoshinobu Yamamoto allowed only one hit and one walk while striking out one. When asked why he felt he could pitch despite the issue, Yamamoto said:

“During the pregame, I did feel a tiny bit of tightness. I was communicating with my coaches about that… I did have tightness and I was very aware but it wasn’t that serious at that point.”

Yoshinobu Yamamoto was replaced by Michael Grove who pitched for two innings, allowing one run on two hits while striking out three.

Dodgers pitcher Blake Treinen took the mound in the sixth innings and threw 22 strikes out of 39 pitches. Royals’ MJ Melendez hit a grand slam off Treinen, bringing in three runs for his team.

After Anthony Banda replaced him on the mound, he gave up two runs on two hits, striking out two batters.

Dave Roberts acknowledges the possibility of Yoshinobu Yamamoto ending up on the IL list

The Los Angeles Dodgers manager revealed that Yoshinobu Yamamoto could be placed on the IL list. When asked about Yamamoto being placed on the injured list, Dave Roberts said (via AP News):

“It’s a high possibility… The next steps will be to consult with the doctors and see if he needs testing. Right now, we’re going by what he is saying and feeling.”

“Obviously, he felt, we felt he could make the start. We wouldn’t pitch him if we felt he was going to put himself in harm’s way.”

Yoshinobu Yamamoto has a record of 6-2 with a 2.92 ERA. The Los Angeles Dodgers will again face the Kansas City Royals in the final game of their three-game series.