On October 7, 2026, the Dodgers’ Yoshinobu Yamamoto turned in a dominant postseason start — 7 innings, 1 run allowed, 10 strikeouts — sparking a live-reaction thread on 5ch’s “Nandemo Jikkyo G” (a board for real-time sports commentary). According to post #57, this makes five straight postseason outings in which he’s held opponents to one run or fewer, an impressive run of consistency. The thread was divided on what to credit: some pointed to the calming effect of having Shohei Ohtani on the bench, while others pushed back against claims that Yamamoto was “mediocre” back in Japan, citing his career 1.82 ERA as proof otherwise.
What people said
1AnonymousOct 7, 2026 09:24
He's really earning his keep
10AnonymousOct 7, 2026 09:25
Well, Ohtani's the one who brought him over, so this is basically Ohtani's doing too
13AnonymousOct 7, 2026 09:26
Wait, is this guy the greatest pitcher in Japanese baseball history?
He was supposedly "meh" in Japan — how'd he level up this hard…
55AnonymousOct 7, 2026 09:40
Re: #13
Reminder: in his final NPB season he swept the pitching sextuple crown and left Orix a third straight pennant as a parting gift
80AnonymousOct 7, 2026 09:53
Re: #13
You're probably just trolling, but for the record Yamamoto's career ERA in Japan was 1.82
14AnonymousOct 7, 2026 09:26
Must be the good kind of pressure Ohtani gives him
16AnonymousOct 7, 2026 09:26
He's turned into an absolute 7-innings-1-run-10-strikeout machine, drooling good
19AnonymousOct 7, 2026 09:27
Having Ohtani in the dugout probably makes a huge difference
Shows just how much Ohtani contributes even off the mound
20AnonymousOct 7, 2026 09:27
Yamamoro's (fan nickname for Yamamoto) only flaw used to be 'no nickname' — but now that Yamamoro IS his nickname, he's officially flawless
21AnonymousOct 7, 2026 09:27
How is he getting outs this easily
Is this guy a god or what
22AnonymousOct 7, 2026 09:27
Apparently there was a whole forum calling this guy worse than 'Pitcher Ohtani'
28AnonymousOct 7, 2026 09:31
7 innings, 1 hit? Ohtani did 10 innings, 2 hits!! (exaggerating for effect)
29AnonymousOct 7, 2026 09:31
Unlike Darvish, this guy's a postseason beast
41AnonymousOct 7, 2026 09:36
Re: #29
Ma-kun (Masahiro Tanaka) wasn't quite on Yamamoto's level, but he still pitched pretty well in the postseason
Meanwhile Darvish, who's supposedly better than Ma-kun, was pathetic in the postseason
31AnonymousOct 7, 2026 09:32
Starting Skubal first, fine, whatever — but going with Snell for Game 2 just to be contrarian, what was that about
40AnonymousOct 7, 2026 09:35
Re: #31
Saving Yamamoro for Game 3 takes 'losing' off the table entirely
32AnonymousOct 7, 2026 09:32
Ohtani's on-base percentage is .500, that's absurd!!
39AnonymousOct 7, 2026 09:34
Re: #32
Catcher's interference doesn't count toward OBP, you know
34AnonymousOct 7, 2026 09:33
MLB kind of worships the postseason, so guys who show up big in October basically become gods
36AnonymousOct 7, 2026 09:34
Basically him saying 'I've already called next year's Cy Young'
38AnonymousOct 7, 2026 09:34
Not finishing the game is basically getting KO'd
So who's closing it out, then?
47AnonymousOct 7, 2026 09:37
Re: #38
That'd be your double-closer combo, Diaz and Tanasco
43AnonymousOct 7, 2026 09:36
7 innings, 1 run — total meltdown (sarcasm)
Be grateful for all that run support from his teammates
45AnonymousOct 7, 2026 09:37
Re: #40
If you're down 0-2 and Yamamoro still takes the loss, at least you can live with it
46AnonymousOct 7, 2026 09:37
Yamamoro — World Series MVP
Freeman — World Series MVP
Kiké Hernández — Mr. October
Right on the money
48AnonymousOct 7, 2026 09:37
He's only about 180cm (5'11") yet pitches like a power guy — hard to make sense of him
49AnonymousOct 7, 2026 09:37
Trumpet Guy (Diaz, named for his trumpet-blaring entrance song) has been lights-out ever since he came back, so no need to worry
50AnonymousOct 7, 2026 09:38
Saw something about the Braves struggling against lefties, not sure if that's actually true
51AnonymousOct 7, 2026 09:38
It's unfair that the Dodgers get to just have this guy
52AnonymousOct 7, 2026 09:39
Dominating in both the regular season and the postseason — the man's basically a god
Landing a literal god for something like ¥4 billion (~$27M) a year, the Dodgers really lucked out
57AnonymousOct 7, 2026 09:42
Yoshinobu Yamamoto — Postseason
10/14/25: 9.0 IP, 7 K, 1 ER — Complete Game Win
10/25/25: 9.0 IP, 8 K, 1 ER — Complete Game Win
10/31/25: 6.0 IP, 6 K, 1 ER — Win
11/01/25: 2.2 IP, 1 K, 0 ER — Win (on zero days' rest)
10/7/26: 7.0 IP, 10 K, 1 ER — NEW
Even by a conservative read, the man's a god
58AnonymousOct 7, 2026 09:42
Good thing there was this absurdly expensive 'Ohtani' coupon that came bundled with a Yamamoto redemption
60AnonymousOct 7, 2026 09:43
Reddick: 'Why would you hand $325 million to a guy who hasn't thrown a single pitch in MLB?'
62AnonymousOct 7, 2026 09:45
The mindset of 'on the road, just let Moro (Yamamoto) handle it'
64AnonymousOct 7, 2026 09:46
Let the other team have a Yamamoro of their own too, this is unfair
65AnonymousOct 7, 2026 09:46
I bet there are fans out there saying 'pay Yamamoto with the money deferred from Ohtani's contract'
70AnonymousOct 7, 2026 09:47
Looking forward to another year of fake 'Yamamoto quotes' (a meme format of lines he never actually said)
73AnonymousOct 7, 2026 09:49
Wait, they're bringing in Diaz??
That's terrifying, he's been garbage since joining the Dodgers
83AnonymousOct 7, 2026 09:56
Re: #73
Since coming back he's returned to his old form
75AnonymousOct 7, 2026 09:50
The fact that guys like Yamamoto and Imanaga can put up solid MLB numbers even without having had standout NPB stats really shows how much NPB's level has risen
92AnonymousOct 7, 2026 10:00
Re: #75
Winning the Sawamura Award three years running is about as standout as it gets
Background and Key Points of This Discussion
Yoshinobu Yamamoto signed a 12-year, $325 million contract with the Dodgers in December 2023 without ever having thrown a pitch in MLB — a deal many called a “gamble” at the time. That skeptical take is echoed in this very thread, quoted from commentators. On the other hand, his NPB résumé — three straight Sawamura Awards (NPB’s equivalent of the Cy Young) and a career 1.82 ERA — tells a very different story, making posts calling him “mediocre in Japan” inconsistent with his actual record. The thread split over whether to credit his strong outing to the psychological boost of having Shohei Ohtani on the bench, or to Yamamoto’s own ability — neither claim has objective backing, and both remain speculation. It’s also worth noting, based on the pitching log cited in post #57, that his run of strong postseason starts traces back to the Dodgers’ 2024 World Series title, meaning this outing is part of an ongoing trend rather than a one-off.
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