Yoshinobu Yamamoto addressed the media following the Los Angeles Dodgers' loss to the Baltimore Orioles on June 20, 2026, explaining the pitch-execution issues that defined his start.
Yamamoto said his splitter feel did not arrive until late in the game, forcing him to work through the early innings by relying on other pitch options. "The feel for my splitter getting better came quite late in the innings," he noted, describing the challenge of managing without his primary weapon. He added that the splitter's inconsistency came down to small variations — sometimes dropping sharply, sometimes with more gradual movement — making it easier for hitters to make contact.
On a specific at-bat against Orioles batter Alexander, Yamamoto acknowledged that he struggled to locate his pitches. He stated that a curveball ran too far inside, and that moving it even slightly toward the outer part of the zone might have produced a ground ball out. Yamamoto mentioned that he always prepares for opposing lineups to be aggressive, treating it as a baseline assumption rather than a surprise.
Yamamoto said he spent the entire outing searching for the right feel for his splitter, and that search represented the biggest challenge of the game. He noted that minor variations in splitter movement — depth, timing, and drop angle — are common occurrences he regularly has to manage, describing them as "really small things."
When asked about adjusting to poor form mid-game, Yamamoto acknowledged that even with over ten years of professional experience and multiple coping strategies developed over that time, results are not guaranteed. "Games are not always forgiving — there are times when things just don't go well," he said.