The Ace, the Rookies, and Baseball's Strange Logic

For most pitchers, a line of 5 1/3 scoreless innings, four hits allowed and ten strikeouts would qualify as an excellent afternoon. For Yoshinobu Yamamoto, it apparently sparked a debate.

The Dodgers' ace helped lead Los Angeles to a 9-1 victory over the Phillies on Sunday afternoon at Dodger Stadium, securing another series win and extending a stretch of baseball that increasingly resembles a team settling into its identity. Yet much of the postgame discussion centered around whether Yamamoto was actually at his best.

Baseball has a funny way of creating arguments that make perfect sense until you say them out loud.

Less than 24 hours earlier, Roki Sasaki earned widespread praise after pitching well in a game the Dodgers ultimately lost. On Sunday, Yamamoto struck out ten, allowed no runs and left with the lead firmly in hand, only for some observers to focus on the fact that he needed 104 pitches to get through 5 1/3 innings. Part of that stemmed from a first-pitch strike rate that was noticeably below his usual standard, forcing him into deeper counts than we're accustomed to seeing. Even so, the end result was ten strikeouts, four hits allowed and a row of zeroes where the Phillies were hoping to find runs.

Meanwhile, Yamamoto himself seemed perfectly satisfied.

"My pitches had good force today," he said through an interpreter. "I was able to ride that for the whole game."

That assessment is probably worth considering.

The Phillies entered the afternoon with one of baseball's more dangerous lineups and spent much of the day looking overmatched. Yamamoto generated swings and misses throughout his outing, escaped his only significant jam in the fifth inning by striking out Kyle Schwarber and Trea Turner, and never allowed Philadelphia to push a run across the plate.

If that qualifies as an off day, the Dodgers will gladly accept a few more.

The afternoon also belonged to a pair of young players who have spent most of the season riding buses in Oklahoma City.

Ryan Ward delivered the first major league home run of his career, launching a fourth-inning shot to right field in front of family and friends during his Dodger Stadium debut. Moments later, fellow Oklahoma City teammate Alex Freeland followed with a home run of his own.

The sequence felt almost scripted.

Ward and Freeland had spent much of the morning working together in the batting cages, as they had countless times in Triple-A. A few hours later, both were circling the bases in the majors.

"That was really cool," Ward said. "We spent pretty much the whole morning hitting together. To go almost back-to-back like that with him was really cool."

For Ward, the moment carried even more weight after years of waiting for an opportunity.

"All the guys were happy for me," Ward said. "Those are really cool moments."

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts seemed equally pleased.

"He's spent a lot of time in the minors and he's been a constant performer," Roberts said of Ward. "To get him back with family in town and hit a homer at Dodger Stadium, those are special moments."

Freeland's continued progress drew praise as well. After enduring the inevitable adjustments that accompany a young player's first exposure to the major leagues, Roberts thought Sunday's performance represented another step forward.

"To see him contribute on both sides of the ball was great," Roberts said.

The game's most unexpected star, however, might have been the Automated Ball-Strike Challenge system.

ABS challenges were used ten times throughout the afternoon, with eight calls overturned—one shy of a major league record. Dalton Rushing accounted for two successful challenges in the first inning alone, drawing appreciative smiles from his pitcher.

"They were great challenges because I was hitting my spots," Yamamoto said.

The statistic wasn't really an indictment of the umpiring crew. Major league umpires continue to correctly call roughly 93 to 94 percent of pitches. Sunday's game simply happened to feature a remarkable number of pitches that landed within the system's margin for review.

Still, watching strike zones change shape ten times in a single afternoon occasionally made it feel like everyone in the stadium had downloaded an instant replay app.

Lost amid the technology, the home runs and Yamamoto's strikeout total was another reminder of where the Dodgers currently stand.

Saturday's frustrating late loss never lingered.

The Dodgers responded with nine runs, contributions throughout the lineup and another series victory against one of the National League's better clubs.

"I expect to go out there regardless of opponent and play well," Roberts said afterward.

That expectation increasingly looks less like confidence and more like routine.

The Dodgers have now won 14 of their last 17 games, and they continue finding production from every corner of the roster. Veterans like Freddie Freeman and Max Muncy contributed. Young players like Ward and Freeland supplied some of the loudest moments of the day. Yamamoto dominated despite what some considered less-than-perfect command.

By the ninth inning, the Phillies were simply trying to avoid being shut out.

The Dodgers, meanwhile, were boarding a plane to Arizona with another series win.

If Sunday's outing wasn't Yamamoto at his best, the rest of the National League may have a problem.