Last week, Yoshinobu Yamamoto looked almost unhittable in his long-awaited return from the injured list.

In Monday night’s encore at Truist Park, the rookie Japanese right-hander had to be unbreakable instead.

In all four of Yamamoto’s innings against the Atlanta Braves, the leadoff man reached base. All four times, they eventually made it to third.

But, in a 9-0 Dodgers’ win that secured a four-game series split, Yamamoto managed to escape each jam, pitching four scoreless innings in another encouraging sign for his October prospects.

“It wasn’t as sharp command-wise as his first one back, but he made pitches when he needed to,” manager Dave Roberts said. “I just love the way he navigated.”

Yamamoto was not as crisp Monday as he was in his return from the injured list last week against the Chicago Cubs, when he struck out eight batters and gave up just a lone unearned run in his first start in three months after battling a strained rotator cuff.

Against the Braves, Yamamoto didn’t replicate his nearly perfect fastball command, contributing to a couple of first-inning walks. He sprayed more off-speed pitches, leaving him routinely behind the count. He also only averaged around 95-96 mph with his heater, a tick down from his adrenaline-fueled return six days previous, while giving up four hits (three of them for extra bases).

Yet, every time his back was against the wall, Yamamoto found a way to respond.

“I focused on one hitter at a time,” Yamamoto said through an interpreter. “And stayed calm.”

With runners on the corners in the first, he induced a weak ground ball to end the inning. After both a leadoff double from Sean Murphy in the second inning and a leadoff triple from Ramon Laureano in the fourth, Yamamoto retired the next three batters in a row.

The only time the $325-million offseason signing needed some help was in the third. Following a leadoff single from Michael Harris II, Jorge Soler hit a double to deep center that had Harris trying to score from first. From second base, however, Kiké Hernández made a perfect tumbling relay throw to the plate, completing half a front flip to gun down Harris in a momentum-shifting sequence.

“The throw was unbelievable,” Roberts said. “That’s a hard throw. That’s a hard play.”

At the plate, the Dodgers were in full factory mode, manufacturing nine runs on just four hits while walking seven times and going three for seven with runners in scoring position.

Miguel Rojas scored off a leadoff walk in the third, after avoiding a double-play at second base, stealing third and then getting a good jump on a wild pitch from Braves starter Max Fried to race home.

Tommy Edman and Rojas both scored in the fifth inning after hitting a double and single, respectively, to lead off the frame.

Then, the Dodgers hung a six-spot against Atlanta’s bullpen in the seventh, playing more small ball until Freddie Freeman broke things open with a three-run homer over the short wall down the left field line.

The win moved the Dodgers (89-61) four games clear of the second-place San Diego Padres (who had yet to finish their game Monday night) in the National League West, lowering their magic number to clinch the division crown to nine.

But more important, it offered another blueprint of how they could potentially win games in October, with a Yamamoto-led template almost certain to be required for the team to make a serious World Series run.

“It’s a shot in the arm,” Roberts said of Yamamoto’s return to the club. “He knows how valuable [he is] and what he means to our ballclub. And he’s delivered. So now these last two starts [he will make in the regular season], I feel good that we’ve got a good foundation. We’re almost there to the point where we can just let him go.”

Yamamoto is not without limitations.

He is still in build-up mode, limited to only 72 pitches Monday as he continues to regain stamina after his time on the IL.

He has also been extremely selective with his use of the slider — a pitch known to give him arm troubles during his time in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball league — throwing it only three times Monday while mixing in more cutters instead (though he said Monday that he wasn’t intentionally shying away from it).

Before the game, Roberts also confirmed that Yamamoto will not pitch on regular four days’ rest in any of his remaining regular season starts; continuing the trend of five days off or more between starts that he was accustomed to in Japan. It is unlikely that Yamamoto, who has not pitched on four days’ rest all season, would do so in the playoffs, either.

“It’s kind of where we’re at,” Roberts said. “We’ve got to figure out how best to keep him fresh, sharp, prepared, number one. Then number two, fill in the pieces. Shoot, I’d love to have four guys that can go on short rest or regular rest. But it’s just not feasible.”

Indeed, the Dodgers’ pitching staff is not in the place they hoped it would be at this point of the year.

Tyler Glasnow’s season is over because of a sprained elbow. Gavin Stone is almost certain to remain sidelined himself because of shoulder inflammation, though he still plans to try and start catch play again this week. Clayton Kershaw’s status is also unclear as he continues to battle his toe injury.

But the Dodgers still have Jack Flaherty, their top trade deadline acquisition. They’re optimistic about Walker Buehler, a tested postseason pitcher who has looked better in recent weeks. And most of all, they have Yamamoto, who backed up his big return from injury with an equally auspicious, if not equally dominant, second act.

“To muscle through four innings and get out of massive jams probably boosted his confidence, and ours,” Freeman said. “It’s a good end to the series and a big confidence boost for everyone in here.”

Austin Barnes on injured list

As expected, backup catcher Austin Barnes was placed on the injured list Monday after suffering a broken left big toe the previous night. It’s the second time in the last two months that Barnes has suffered a fracture to the toe, but the Dodgers are hopeful he will be able to return before the end of the regular season.

Triple-A catcher Hunter Feduccia was called up in Barnes’ place Monday.

“I hope it’s one of those things, given his role, that if we can calm it down, keep it at bay we can get him back in 16 days,” Roberts said. “Hopefully it’s not the end of the season for him.”

Texas starting quarterback Quinn Ewers is questionable for the Longhorns’ game this weekend against Louisiana-Monroe, coach Steve Sarkisian said on Monday.

Ewers, who suffered a strained oblique in the second quarter of the Longhorns’ 56-7 win over UTSA, left Saturday’s game early in the second quarter and didn’t return. Redshirt freshman Arch Manning relieved Ewers with four touchdown passes and a touchdown run and would make his first career start on Saturday if Ewers can’t go.

Ewers had been playing some of the best football of his career before the injury. He has completed a career-high 73.4 percent of his passes this season, threw for 691 yards, eight touchdowns and two interceptions and averaged 8.7 yards per attempt in eight-plus quarters of action. Entering last weekend, Ewers was the betting favorite to win the Heisman Trophy, per BetMGM.

Sarkisian said the injury was non-contact and Ewers felt pain as he threw a corner route for a 49-yard completion to Gunnar Helm. He tried to continue to play but had to come out of the game after the next snap.

“On the release, he just feels it, you know?” Sarkisian said of the play on which Ewers was injured. “I think what he thought was it was just going to kind of go away, so he stayed in for one more play and then realized, ‘I probably need to get this looked at, this doesn’t feel right.’”

If Ewers is unable to go, it will be the third consecutive season that he has missed a game with an injury. He missed three games in 2022 with a clavicle injury and missed two games last year with an AC joint sprain.

Sarkisian said they’ll monitor Ewers day-to-day and see how he feels. But based on how the quarterback handled his past two injuries, he’s confident that Ewers will effectively use any downtime he has and be ready once he’s cleared to return.

“He’s always staying dialed in,” Sarkisian said. “He’s also diligent with his recovery, and that’s why when he comes back, he comes back and performs at a high level.”

Regarding Manning’s performance on Saturday (he finished 9 of 12 passing for 223 yards), Sarkisian said the young quarterback looked “poised and composed.” Sarkisian said Manning made good decisions and was getting the ball to the right receivers when making his reads.

“There were some learning curves in there, a couple things to learn from, but at the end of the day, I thought he played at a high level,” Sarkisian said.

Sarkisian said they’ll adjust how many practice reps Manning gets with the first team as they monitor Ewers’ status. True freshman Trey Owens, the Longhorns’ third-string quarterback who made his career debut against UTSA, will also see increased work this week. Owens would serve as the backup to Manning if Ewers is unable to go.

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(Photo: Tim Warner / Getty Images)