00:00And a sight for sore eyes right here Yoshinobu Yamamoto is set to make his first start since mid-June
00:08It's seven shutout innings against the New York Yankees
00:11He looked as good as any pitcher in baseball that night as fastballs playing up in the high 90s
00:16The Yankees at that point were one of the top lineups and baseball could not touch it
00:20Two more scoreless innings his next start
00:23But he left that start with a sore shoulder sore shoulder and then missed almost three months
00:27But back for when it matters most you're gonna be three or four starts prior to the postseason
00:32Dave Roberts is saying yesterday Andrew Friedman was telling us last night
00:36They feel like they can get him built up to a point where it's not really a thing once it gets into October
00:41Yeah, and Pearson talked about you know, 50 to 60 pitches, you know, I think a lot of eyes are in Wilson
00:46I talked about this pregame
00:47We're gonna be on the velocity to see where he's at and obviously the depth of his two best secondary pitches
00:52In his splitter and his curveball a lot of eyes on Yamamoto for a variety of reasons
00:58He's got seven pitches Joe, but ultimately let's be real. It's the four seam the splitter and the curveball
01:04That's what we saw from him early in the season. He'll throw in some of the others here and there
01:09But ultimately how is the four seam gonna play up at velocity and the splitter in the curveball?
01:14How much bend are they gonna have two minor league rehabs two innings in each?
01:18Although he threw 53 pitches on Tuesday in his last one
01:22So the bigger thing in Dave Roberts mind is he up down right?
01:26He doesn't necessarily see it going to be got the pitch count up there
01:29But he's only done the one up down right the two innings of work
01:33He's gonna keep an eye on him and he's gonna have a few starts to ramp those things up towards October
01:39Cubs rolled the Dodgers in the first game of this series 10 to 4 last night. We're all set for game 2
01:46Ian hap climbs in Yamamoto
01:48Through his wind and off we go with a fastball at 97 crisply to the outside corner strike one
01:57Dodgers trying to keep their unbeaten series streak alive nine consecutive series over the last month without a loss
02:05There's the car
02:06And in his minor league starts the fastball is dialed in but he's still searching for the curveball in the splitter
02:11Well, and those two we talked about how how much they play into the fastball
02:15The biggest thing is the command how important it is for him to be efficient because of the limited pitches that he has
02:22For him to be able to go deep into this game
02:25fastball for strike one curveball for strike two
02:29And then the splitter downstairs one and two on half
02:33Now my motto face these Cubs back in April got his first Major League win against Chicago a Wrigley Field with five scoreless innings
02:42Fires the one two to half
02:45Looking good one better in breaks off a curve. Oh how we've missed you
02:52This looks
02:53Dirty Joe we saw it for a strike for a strike two
02:57But now watch the bend
02:59Starts in the strike zone this thing bounced in front of the plate and got a swing and miss for me and half
03:04That's how good and remember his curveball gets 13 more inches of depth than the average curveball
03:11He showcased it there. That was his best pitch against the Cubs back in April. They went 0 for 8 against it with 4 K's
03:18That's how he starts Dansby Swanson
03:21Swanson hitting 375 in this month of September as the Cubs keep their faint playoff hopes alive
03:28They'd like to play the rest of the season on the road the way that they fit
03:33One nine of their last ten road games and scored 99 runs in those ten games
03:41Saw it last night and it has been a difference at first you kind of look at road
03:46Hope splits and it's kind of does it really matter?
03:48But the way they played against the Yankees at home then coming into this you can tell they are much better offensive team on the road
03:56splitter
03:57checks
03:59Yeah, Momota's gotten ahead of both hitters Owen to one ball two strikes on Swanson. It's just barely able to check his swing
04:1126 year old in his first year in the big leagues after
04:14Seven seasons in Japan finishing up with the greatest three-year stretch of any Japanese pitcher ever
04:22the one to
04:25Splitter dives under the swing
04:31Now we've seen all three of them prime pitches and I love that he's starting out with the fastball finishing off here with the splitter
04:39It's that late run down and in to Dansby Swanson for the second strike out of the game
04:45They get our first all Japan matchup right here. Yamamoto to say a Suzuki a curve is a little bit low
04:53all-time Japanese home run leaderboard in the big league show hey Otani had a key match suey
04:59Ichiro and then say a Suzuki and already with 53 in his young major league career
05:08One ball one strike
05:11They've missed these splitters by a good foot. Yeah, I mean they're not even starting
05:17You look at the bottom of the zone and then they're dropping so far out that shows you how late it's moving
05:38Momotos slowly through that wind up
05:41Fastball 98 sprayed foul two and two and a chance to strike out the side in his first inning back
05:49The velocity Yamamoto usually sits about 95 96 he's hit 97 down 98
06:01Here's this 2-2
06:04It's gonna be interesting to see what that fastball velocity said and it'll be interesting to see as this game goes on because like you
06:12Said he's averaged 95 96 for the year, but that last game in New York. He didn't just touch 97
06:17He sat there 97 98 and that's where it's been right here
06:22And his first inning back
06:25Home with another 2-2 good take on that curve
06:29I'll spin Joe. Look at the spin on this thing. I mean, that's a tough pitch to lay off of
06:43Here's the payoff strikes out the side in his first inning in three months
06:50Strikes out the side in his first inning in three months
06:56Curveball for the first strike out of the game that went to the splitter and it was a beauty out of a fastball painted
07:20You
