Yoshinobu Yamamoto reflects on latest win, reveals strategies behind top performance

Japanese pitching sensation Yoshinobu Yamamoto continues to put up good numbers from the mound and this time it came against last year's NLCS champions, the Arizona Diamondbacks. In Monday's game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, he threw 6.1 innings, allowing seven hits, two earned runs and one walk while striking out eight.

Yamamoto's performance, coupled with timely offense from the Dodgers, led to the club's 6-4 victory over the defending NLCS champions. Though Yamamoto saw traffic early on, once he got settled in, his fastball and breaking ball left hitters uneasy at the plate.

After the game, Yamamoto revealed his strategy on the mound.

"I wasn't really thinking about how much we got to lead," Yoshinobu Yamamoto said. "I was just focusing on executing my own pitch every inning. Even though I gave up the first run, the first score to them, but after that I was getting calmed down and focusing on my own pitches. As the game moves on, it got better."

Moreover, this was Yamamoto's second time facing the Dbacks, so even that played in his favor.

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Dodgers manager happy to see Yamamoto get to 100 pitches count

After the game, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts seemed pleased with Yoshinobu Yamamoto's workload. Yamamoto eclipsed the 100 pitch mark and though Roberts would have liked him to complete the seventh, he was happy to see him being efficient.

"He was really good. We got him to 100 pitches. I know that I wanted to get him through that seventh inning," Roberts said. "I just felt that kind of where they're at in the lineup just felt it was good to get them a different look with Carroll coming up but he was fantastic tonight."

"Slider used a little bit more. The fastball had live command and got a lot of swing and miss tonight and really had his way with those guys. So it's really good to see."

This improved Yoshinobu Yamamoto's ERA to 3.17 and he now boasts a 5-1 pitching record. Freddie Freeman's grand slam also played a key role in the Dodgers' 33rd win of the season.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto is turning out to be the pitcher that the Dodgers can put their faith in for the next decade and so. After signing a 12-year, $325 million deal in the offseason, when he gave up five runs in his debut start in Seoul, many raised their concerns about whether Yamamoto could keep up with major league hitters.

However, recent outings suggest that he is ready to take the steering wheel of the pitching ship from Clayton Kershaw, who has helmed it for the last decade.