Yamamoto set to pitch again before departing to WBC

TEMPE, Ariz. — The march toward a three-peat began in familiar fashion for the Dodgers: loud bats, electric arms and more star power.

In their Cactus League opener against the Los Angeles Angels, the Los Angeles Dodgers wasted no time flexing the muscle that carried them through October. By the time fans had settled into their seats Saturday afternoon, the Dodgers had chased right-hander José Soriano from the mound and handed Yoshinobu Yamamoto a comfortable cushion.

The headliner, of course, was Shohei Ohtani — the reigning National League MVP, who is ramping up before departing to join Team Japan for the World Baseball Classic. Ohtani hit a routine roller to third in the first inning and became an infield single thanks to his burst down the line, igniting a rally that spiraled quickly for the Angels.

Batting behind him, Teoscar Hernández looked locked in from the jump. Starting in left field, Hernández collected singles in each of his first two trips, spraying line drives and setting the table for the bottom of the order.

The big blow came from Hyeseong Kim, who laced a two-out, two-run single off Soriano to cap a three-run first. A wild pitch tacked on another before the inning mercifully ended for the Angels. By the middle of the second, the Dodgers had stretched the lead to 9-0, and Ohtani had completed his three at-bats — single, groundout, strikeout — and called it a day.

All eyes then shifted to Yamamoto.

Making his first appearance of the spring, the reigning World Series MVP carved through a 12-pitch first inning with two strikeouts. His fastball had late life, his splitter dove beneath barrels, and the tempo was crisp.

The second inning offered a reminder that even aces are still calibrating this time of year. Jorge Soler doubled down the left-field line, and defensive trouble followed. Hernández misplayed a fly ball at the warning track off the bat of Jo Adell, the ball glancing off his glove and dropping in front of him to allow a run to score. Yamamoto responded by punching out Josh Lowe with a splitter for his third strikeout, but Logan O'Hoppe followed with an RBI single to left.

Yamamoto’s line — 1⅔ innings, three hits, two runs (one earned), three strikeouts — was secondary to the process. He threw 30 pitches, 22 for strikes, and looked every bit like a pitcher building toward something bigger.

Afterward, there was mild confusion about what comes next. Manager Dave Roberts had indicated Yamamoto would be one-and-done in Cactus League play before heading to the WBC. Yamamoto, however, smiled and said Roberts told him, “Good luck in the WBC,” when he came out — even though he’s scheduled to make one more spring start next Friday against the Giants before departing for the WBC.