Yoshinobu

Yamamoto

A Game 3 starter still hasn’t been revealed yet. The reasoning for the Dodgers going with Flaherty in Game 2 now is that he would be more accustomed to pitching with regular rest in a Game 5 if necessary.

It looks like the Dodgers trust Flaherty a little more than Yamamoto in a potential Game 5. A Game 3 starter was not revealed, though it’s expected that Walker Buehler would get the ball then. Landon Knack is the other option.

Yamamoto threw 71 pitches tonight and averaged 95.5 mph with his fastball. His control, very shaky last time out, was considerably better in this one, and he went without a walk in his five innings. Yamamoto’s regular season ends at 7-2 with a 3.00 ERA. The quantity isn’t what anyone wanted, but the quality was there, particularly with his 105/22 K/BB in 90 innings.

Yamamoto was unusually wild today, walking three batters for the first time in MLB. He also threw just his second wild pitch. He wound up needed 79 pitches to get his nine outs. Hopefully, it’ll prove to be an aberration, since solid efforts from Yamamoto figured to be a must for the Dodgers in October. He’ll make his final regular-season start in Coors Field, probably on Saturday.

Yamamoto gave up four hits, walked two and struck out three. He’s yet to give up an earned run in two starts since returning from a shoulder injury. Unfortunately for fantasy managers, he’s pitched only four innings in each start. Yamamoto’s first major league season has been a bust considering his preseason ADP, but only because he got hurt. He’s 6-2 with a 2.63 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 95 strikeouts in 82 innings over 16 starts this year. The 26-year-old right-hander is set to face the Rockies at home this weekend.

Yamamoto looked fantastic, even if the Cubs did push one run across with three singles in the second inning. He walked none, his velocity was up a tad from before he got hurt — he averaged 96.3 mph with his fastball — and he wound up with a 41% CSW. He’ll probably still be limited to 70 pitches or so next time out, but he’ll be well worth using against the Marlins anyway.

Yamamoto was activated to start Tuesday against the Cubs. Nick Ramirez was designated for assignment to make room on both the 40-man and active rosters. It’ll be Yamamoto’s first start in the majors since June 15. He had two minor league rehab starts and reached a total of 53 pitches in his most recent one. That puts Yamamoto on track to throw around 70 pitches against the Cubs on Tuesday.

Yamamoto will be making his first start in the majors since June 15. The right-hander has made two rehab starts, and he threw 53 pitches in his last outing for Triple-A Oklahoma City on Tuesday. The Dodgers will probably be extra careful with the 26-year-old, but his upside makes him well worth the risk against the Cubs next week.

Yamamoto struck out three, issued a pair of walks and threw 53 pitches (36 strikes) in his second rehab outing. The Dodgers have the luxury of not rushing the talented 26-year-old righty back before he’s ready, but he figures to be ready to return to Los Angeles by mid-September. He’s been on the shelf since mid-June recovering from a rotator cuff strain.

After working two innings in his first rehab start on Wednesday, the 26-year-old right-hander is scheduled to throw three innings his second time out. He’ll continue to build back up in the minor leagues before joining the Dodgers’ rotation in mid-September if everything goes according to plan.