Dodgers’ Yoshinobu Yamamoto impresses in star-filled matchup against the Yankees
EW YORK — On a rainy day in Manhattan back in December, the New York Yankees told Yoshinobu Yamamoto of nights like these. Like others across the baseball world, Yankees executives saw rare potential in the 25-year-old Japanese right-hander. They envisioned the free agent pitching as he did Friday, in a packed Yankee Stadium, where he looked like one of the most electric talents in the world.
Yamamoto said Friday he appreciated the effort and the interest the Yankees had in him during the offseason. The pitcher embraced the atmosphere on this night and called this ballpark “a great stadium,” through interpreter Yoshihiro Sonoda. But he was here as a visitor after taking more years and more money from a Los Angeles Dodgers club that appeared to be the better fit from the jump. So when Yamamoto finally took the field in the Bronx, he did so to a chorus of boos.
Yamamoto proceeded to produce magic, pinning down a Yankees club that led the majors in runs. He delivered before the biggest crowd to pile into this building this year.
