Yoshinobu Yamamoto has easily been the most dominant and most consistent member of the Dodgers’ pitching staff this season, but he took his game to another level on Monday, during LA’s series opener against the Guardians.
In the bottom of the third, with runners on first and second and no outs, Will Wilson stuck his bat out to bunt against Yamamoto. It was a solid bunt that got past Freddie Freeman, who was basically standing on top of home plate to defend against it. Yamamoto bolted past Freeman, who is still dealing with a torn up ankle, and scooped the ball himself.
A shifted Hyeseong Kim raced to cover first, but he wasn’t close enough to the bag for Yamamoto’s liking. So he took the ball himself, lunging down at a diving Wilson to tag him on the back of his leg just before the runner could touch first. Credit has to go to first base umpire Brian O’Nora, who correctly called it an out.
It was a phenomenal play that could be the first piece of evidence in Yamamoto’s bid not only for a Cy Young, but for a Gold Glove.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s stunning play during Dodgers-Guardians opener could get him a Gold Glove
His start against the Guardians wasn’t quite as dominant as his seven scoreless innings against the Diamondbacks on May 20, but it was still quality: six innings, two earned runs, seven strikeouts. His ERA is still under 2.00, the best in the Dodgers’ rotation by far and, for that matter, the best of any National League starter with 11+ starts. He’s somehow managed to stay healthy even as the rest of the Dodgers’ highest-paid starters have withered around him.
If Yamamoto can stay healthy throughout the rest of the season, he looks like he’ll be a shoo-in for his first Cy Young award. The Phillies’ Jesús Luzardo also looks very good, and Paul Skenes could give them both a run for their money, but Yamamoto is the clear frontrunner right now. A Gold Glove would just be a nice little bonus.
He’s also barreling toward his first All-Star appearance (maybe even a starting role for the NL), so he could walk away from the season with three shiny new designations to his name. After that play on Monday, earning a Gold Glove is hardly difficult to imagine.
