Yoshinobu Yamamoto Smooth In His Final Spring Start Before Dodgers Opening Day

PHOENIX — Dodgers right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto went into his last commencement of nan outpouring pinch a attraction connected throwing first-pitch strikes, while besides hoping to trial his composure pinch men connected base.

He achieved some Friday, limiting nan walking half of nan Padres’ divided squad to 3 hits successful 5 scoreless innings. The adjacent clip Yamamoto takes nan mound for a game, it’ll beryllium connected opening time astatine Dodger Stadium against nan Arizona Diamondbacks connected Thursday.

“There were a fewer things I wanted to try,” Yamamoto said done an expert aft his portion of nan Dodgers’ 4-3 win. “And [Friday] I was capable to get into nan crippled very nicely.”

The crippled featured a imaginable preview of nan Dodger’s opening-day lineup — “I don’t know, we’ll see, it’s immoderate bully players,” manager Dave Roberts said pinch a smile.

Few roster decisions remained, aft campy cuts Wednesday included right-handers Kyle Hurt and River Ryan, and infielder Ryan Fitzgerald.

“They’re ever difficult pinch guys hoping, expecting to break pinch us,” Roberts said of his conversations pinch trim players. “There’s evidently immoderate bully ones wherever you show a feline that he’s going to make nan club. But I deliberation nan main point that conscionable shouldn’t get mislaid is, it’s not ever conscionable astir starting. It’s wherever you finish.”

As of Friday, Hyeseong Kim and Alex Freeland were still locked successful a second-base battle. And nan Dodgers had to benignant retired roles astatine nan backmost extremity of nan rotation.

Roberts said he expected to transportation a swingman who would apt transportation aggregate innings retired of nan bullpen early successful nan season, erstwhile nan Dodgers’ schedule includes predominant disconnected days, and later service arsenic a sixth starter.

Yamamoto, however, had been nan clear prime to lead nan rotation, agelong earlier Roberts made it charismatic Monday.

“It’ll beryllium bully to manus nan shot to him and it’s not an elimination game,” Roberts said, referencing Yamamoto’s World Series MVP performance. “That’ll beryllium nosy for me.”

Coming disconnected pitching meaningful games successful nan World Baseball Classic, Yamamoto had 1 past chance Friday for a tuneup.

He struck retired nan first 3 batters he faced, pinch first-pitch strikes to each.

The adjacent inning, Yamamoto gave up back-to-back one-out singles. He escaped nan jam pinch 2 much strikeouts. Yamamoto tallied 7 strikeouts successful an wide soft performance.

“He came out, really, pinch a purpose,” Roberts said. “And I thought everything looked good, nan fastball — nan life to it, nan bid of it — nan cutter, slider, curve shot was good, nan split, everything was good. And very efficient. And beautiful effortlessly sewage done 5 innings, truthful that was really bully to see.”