Sports

Yoshinobu Yamamoto bends but doesn't break as Dodgers split series versus Braves

Published

4 months ago

September 16, 2024

Press Room

Yoshinobu Yamamoto bends but doesn't break as Dodgers split series versus Braves

ATLANTA —

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.

The Dodgers have many injuries to their pitching staff. Will this lead to Shohei Ohtani becoming a pitching hero in the playoffs?

“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.”

Sports

Rams to have 'sense of urgency' in slowing Saquon Barkley, Eagles

Published

13 minutes ago

January 14, 2025

Press Room

Rams to have 'sense of urgency' in slowing Saquon Barkley, Eagles

It was an embarrassing defeat, a night when Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley dominated the Rams.

On Nov. 24, Barkley rushed for 255 yards and scored on runs of 70 and 72 yards in a 37-20 victory over the Rams at SoFi Stadium.

The defeat marked a turning point for the Rams.

Coach Sean McVay challenged his players to give their best effort over the final 39 days of the season. The Rams reeled off five consecutive victories before McVay rested starters in a season-ending loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

“When you have humbling experiences, with the right kinds of people, those are where the real growth [opportunities] exist,” McVay said Tuesday during a video conference with reporters, adding, “A lot of the scars that we’ve had as a team have been what led us to the point where we’re at.”

The Rams, coming off a dominating NFC wild-card victory over the Minnesota Vikings, are preparing to face Barkley and the No. 2-seeded Eagles in a divisional-round game on Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.

The Eagles advanced by defeating the Green Bay Packers, 22-10, on Sunday.

“They’re real,” McVay said of Eagles, adding, “They’re in this position for a reason.”

The Eagles feature Barkley, quarterback Jalen Hurts, receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, tight end Dallas Goedert and, perhaps most importantly, one of the NFL’s best offensive lines.

Vic Fangio coordinates a defense that gave up only one touchdown and intercepted three passes against the Packers.

But Barkley is the biggest star on a team full of them.

The seventh-year pro, in his first season with the Eagles, rushed for 2,005 yards and 13 touchdowns.

Eagles running back Saquon Barkley scores on a 70-yard touchdown against the Rams in the third quarter at SoFi Stadium in Week 12.

(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

A good chunk came against the Rams.

So how must it be different on Sunday, when the Rams face a running back who rushed for 119 yards in 25 carries against the Packers?

“Our sense of urgency will be appropriate for the task at hand,” McVay said.

The Rams displayed an overwhelming pass rush against the Vikings — they tied an NFL postseason record with nine sacks — but neutralizing Barkley will be the key against the Eagles, Rams players said.

“Stopping Saquon and being able to get to some of the positions we were in tonight,” defensive lineman Braden Fiske said after the victory over the Vikings. “Getting to be able to rush the passer. I mean that’s what we got to do, get them into third and longs and keep them out of third and shorts.”

The Eagles offense, with Barkley and other weapons, “can really do damage at any time,” safety Quentin Lake said.

“We’re going to come up with a good game plan to make sure that we can limit the explosive plays,” Lake said. “Obviously, limit Saquon Barkley because we know how dangerous he is. And somehow, some way, find our opportunities to make plays on the ball.

“And if we do those things, we’ll have a good chance of winning.”

Etc.

Rams tight end Tyler Higbee, who suffered a chest injury against the Vikings, was released from the hospital and returned to Los Angeles on Monday night with the team. McVay said Higbee was taken to the hospital after spitting up blood. McVay had no other update but Higbee “has full expectation that he’ll be ready to go” on Sunday, McVay said. McVay had no update on cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon (hamstring). … Having left fire-ravaged Los Angeles for Arizona to prepare for their wild-card game, McVay said the Rams planned to remain in Southern California before leaving for Philadelphia on Saturday. “I’m very hopeful that we’ll be able to be here this week,” he said, adding, “All of our expectations for the time being are that we’re going to be able to have our preparation here.”

Sports

Sam Darnold coming up short in loss to Rams has major implications for Vikings’ future at QB

Published

7 hours ago

January 14, 2025

Press Room

Sam Darnold coming up short in loss to Rams has major implications for Vikings’ future at QB

GLENDALE, Ariz. — The look on Zygi Wilf’s face said it all. It was as if the Minnesota Vikings owner and chairman had just watched a horror movie with a gutting ending. He exited the locker room, stood for a few seconds and stared blankly at the crowd of people in front of him. His son, Jonathan, pointed him toward a long hallway. And off he went slowly into another offseason.

How did this end so abruptly? How did a 14-win Vikings team oscillate so quickly from being a potential No. 1 seed to losing in the wild-card round? Wilf’s mind turned with questions such as these.

None of them, though, were as confounding as this one: What happened to quarterback Sam Darnold?

Two weeks ago, Darnold’s Vikings teammates were dousing him with water bottles as part of a locker-room celebration following a win at U.S. Bank Stadium. Now, here they were Monday night at State Farm Stadium, zipping up their suitcases and heading for the buses after a brutal 27-9 loss to the underdog Los Angeles Rams.

GO DEEPER

Rams down Vikings 27-9 in wild-card game for date with Eagles: Takeaways

The dichotomy between the two scenes was as stark as it was disorienting. In the first snapshot, the 27-year-old Darnold seemed to have completed a career transformation and galvanized an organization in the process. In the second, it felt fair to wonder how much of Darnold’s impressive play this season was a mirage.

“I think it’s very important we all think about Sam’s body of work,” Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell said postgame. “It did not work out in the end, and I think Sam would be the first one to tell you (he could have played better).”

After a loss like this one, there are typically multiple culprits. The offensive line is another obvious one for Minnesota. The Rams sacked Darnold nine times, tying an NFL playoff record. Furthermore, 12 Rams defenders generated at least one pressure, according to Next Gen Stats, their most in a game since Week 6 in 2021.

Hoecht throws up the “LA” after the Rams latest sack
📺: #MINvsLAR on ESPN/ABC
📱: Stream on @NFLPlus and ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/iWM1Pofp0U
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— NFL (@NFL) January 14, 2025

Allocating cap space and draft capital to interior offensive linemen will be a priority this offseason. O’Connell suggested as much Monday night.

Still, that concern pales in comparison to the importance of what happens at quarterback — and what that means for everything else — which is why Darnold’s drop-off over the last two weeks is so jarring.

After playing well enough over the first 16 games to lead the Vikings to a 14-2 record and legitimately be in the conversation for NFL MVP, Darnold struggled mightily in the regular-season finale, a 31-9 loss in Detroit. Against the Lions, he completed just 18 of 41 passes for 166 yards, posting his third-worst passer rating (55.5) and his highest bad-throw percentage of the season (34.2).

GO DEEPER

Did Vikings’ struggles against Lions show a blueprint for how to slow down Sam Darnold?

Those troubles continued against the Rams. His numbers — 25-for-40 passing for 245 yards, a touchdown and an interception — belied Darnold’s level of comfort. He misplaced multiple throws. Darnold, who so often this season had been pinpoint accurate, threw behind his receivers. He spun out of the pocket but failed to get the ball off. His eyes often scanned from right to left too quickly. His feet swiveled back and forth constantly. He tried to evade pass rushers, who engulfed him almost every time.

Darnold’s system malfunctioned in almost every regard. When it wasn’t his vision, it was his footwork. When it wasn’t his vision or his footwork, it was his arm.

“Left too many throws out there that I would usually make,” he said afterward.

Had he said that earlier in his career in New York or Carolina, some might have laughed. But this season, while entrusted in O’Connell’s scheme and developmental process, he proved over a meaningful sample size that he could progress in rhythm, deliver the football accurately and withstand pressure.

Darnold had also displayed resilience, navigating a difficult midseason stretch against the Colts and Jaguars during which he threw five interceptions. The way he responded to those tough film sessions, throwing 18 touchdowns and two interceptions in the ensuing seven games, showed just what he was capable of.

In late December, The Athletic’s Dianna Russini reported, “After conversations with a team source, one thing is clear: The Vikings want Darnold back in Minnesota for 2025.” Separately, another Vikings staffer texted, “I hope we can keep him.” Darnold’s MVP odds climbed. Against the Packers in the team’s final home game of the season, he completed 33 of 43 passes for 377 yards, three touchdowns and an interception and was soaked by teammates afterward in the locker room.

The Sam Darnold experience continues. pic.twitter.com/k5db9DYdtp
— Alec Lewis (@alec_lewis) December 30, 2024

This 2024 Vikings season, billed as a transition year toward a more flexible future around rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy, had exceeded even the rosiest expectations.

“Outside of these walls, nobody really believed in him,” running back Aaron Jones said of Darnold at the time. “Nobody gave him a chance. But he’s proving everybody wrong.”

That was the crescendo, a byproduct of an infrastructure optimized in Darnold’s image. At the time, the Vikings staff reiterated the role that rhythm and timing played in Darnold’s success and how important it was for his feet and eyes to sync.

Buried in the jargon was an important reality: Darnold trusted the play calls and reads so much that it was more about sticking to a specific timing than observing the field and making decisions based on what he saw. The best way to sum up his struggles in Detroit and Arizona was an interruption in timing. Both the Lions and Rams affected Darnold’s ability to climb up in the pocket, and both teams mixed in countless stunts and exotic pressures to keep Darnold from being comfortable, assessing the picture downfield and throwing.

There were numerous examples from Monday night. Early in the second quarter, Darnold dropped back and eyed the right sideline. Rams defensive lineman Braden Fiske pushed Vikings left guard Blake Brandel toward Darnold, who side-stepped and kept his eyes on receiver Jordan Addison, while receiver Jalen Nailor was open crossing the field. Darnold hurled a pass in Addison’s direction. But the ball was late and behind Addison, and it was intercepted by Rams cornerback Cobie Durant.

Later in the quarter, the Rams blitzed safety Quentin Lake from depth. He squeaked past right guard Dalton Risner, forcing Darnold to step up and move his vision from right to left. Uncertain with what he was seeing, he looked back to his right. But before he could release the ball, another blitzer, Rams cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon, speared him in the back. Darnold fumbled, and Rams edge rusher Jared Verse recovered and rumbled 57 yards for a touchdown, extending Los Angeles’ lead.

JARED VERSE SCOOP AND SCORE!
📺: #MINvsLAR on ESPN/ABC
📱: Stream on @NFLPlus and ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/bXLHmOUaQW
— NFL (@NFL) January 14, 2025
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“There are some examples where, when you go back and watch the tape in an air-conditioned room tomorrow, it’s going to feel like, ‘Man, why didn’t I just do this or that?’” O’Connell said. “But it’s hard in the moment. It’s hard with how fast things happen out there.”

Good quarterbacks have the arm and the athleticism, especially in the modern NFL, but the mind is what separates the top-tier QBs. Matthew Stafford’s operating capacity on the other side of the field validated this, and Monday night substantiated a popular opinion regarding the Vikings’ future: Franchise-tagging or extending Darnold, who is set to become a free agent, does not make sense with the team’s needs elsewhere, especially on the interior of the offensive line.

Moving on from Darnold would, of course, raise questions. How ready is McCarthy? Which veteran option might the Vikings pair with McCarthy? And how would O’Connell feel about having to build up an entirely new quarterback option?

These are vastly different questions from the ones on Wilf’s mind as he wound his way through the bowels of the stadium Monday night. But they’ll soon be on his plate following a wildly successful season that ended in a disappointing flash, a roller-coaster ride for a quarterback who could not polish off the progress he’d built.

(Photo: Christian Petersen / Getty Images)

Sports

Daniil Medvedev smashes racket, camera during fiery outburst as he avoids Australian Open upset

Published

7 hours ago

January 14, 2025

Press Room

Daniil Medvedev smashes racket, camera during fiery outburst as he avoids Australian Open upset

Top-ranked tennis pro Daniil Medvedev destroyed a camera and his tennis racket as he faced what could have been a monumental upset in the Australian Open by a wild-card entry ranked 418th in the first round of the Grand Slam tournament on Tuesday.

Medvedev’s outburst came during the third set when he lost a 13-stroke back-and-forth with Thailand’s Kasidit Samrej to fall behind 40-15. With Medvedev up at the net, Samrej’s shot clipped the net to go beyond Medvedev’s reach in a direction he clearly could not have anticipated.

Daniil Medvedev reacts during his first-round match against Kasidit Samrej at the Australian Open in Melbourne, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

Then Medvedev, a three-time Australian Open finalist, unleashed his anger on the net, smashing his racket several times.

In the process, Medvedev destroyed his racket and a camera that was situated directly in his path of destruction.

Staff quickly rushed to replace the broken camera and clean up the debris on the court. Medvedev was given a code violation warning for racket abuse from the chair umpire.

Daniil Medvedev smashes a TV net camera with his racket as he has lost the third set against Kasidit Samrej in the men’s singles first-round match at Australian Open on Jan. 14, 2025. (Daniel Pockett/Getty Images)

COCO GAUFF DELIVERS 6-WORD MESSAGE FOR THOSE DEALING WITH LA WILDFIRES AFTER AUSTRALIAN OPEN WIN

Medvedev dropped the set to trail 2-1, and it looked as though the No. 5 ranked player would face elimination. But Medvedev quickly turned things around to win the following two sets 6-1, 6-2, and advanced to the second round.

“In the end of last year, this match, I probably would have lost it,” Medvedev said after the match. “New year, new energy.”

Daniil Medvedev’s outburst came during the third set when he lost a 13-stroke back-and-forth with Thailand’s Kasidit Samrej. (Daniel Pockett/Getty Images)

Medvedev is hoping to start out the 2025 season with a win in Melbourne. A three-time finalist, including in last year’s tournament, Medvedev has never won the Australian Open. His biggest challenger will be Novak Djokovic, who has won the most Australian Open titles than any other men’s player with 10.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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