Straight Talk: Yamamoto's ground game tops aggressive-swinging Brew Crew

"Straight Talk" is a regular feature in which The Sporting Tribune's John E. Gibson offers a full translation of media availability with Dodgers Japanese stars Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki. He will also help translate when Lakers star Rui Hachimura and L.A. Galaxy captain Maya Yoshida are asked questions in Japanese.

The job of interpreters in the heat of the moment is difficult without the ability to write down questions and answers and re-hear responses for proper context. That's where John comes in to help. John currently works as a Japanese-English interpreter and covered pro baseball in Japan for about 20 years. His experience as a sports reporter includes stints at The Orange County Register, The Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, The Redlands Daily Facts, The Yomiuri Shimbun’s English newspaper in Tokyo and The Epoch Times.

MILWAUKEE – Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto (4-4) tosses seven innings of one-run ball, working past seven hits, a walk and a hit batter, with just three strikeouts in a 5-1 decision over the host Brewers on Sunday afternoon. Yamamoto works past constant traffic on the bases, allowing just a second-inning run and collecting 11 groundouts en route to his fourth victory.

Q: Yoshi, when you look at your outing, just seven innings of work, not as much swing and miss as usual, but putting the ball on the ground. What does that just say as to where your stuff was at today?

Yamamoto: They were taking aggressive swings, so I just wanted to take my time and do a good job of throwing to my spots.

Q: Was that an adjustment that you made in game, or is that kind of the plan going into this one?

Yamamoto: Well, we were prepared for them to come out swinging, and when the game started, they were really aggressive, so I just wanted to concentrate on not making a mistake. That’s how I pitched, and it turned out well.

Q: (Inaudible) … your own notes in your memo book. How much did you look at those notes from last year’s playoffs for today’s start?

Yamamoto: Well, um … yeah, I’ve always used it – always used it.

Q: Looking through your last couple of starts, how do you think you’ve improved, especially in two-strike counts?

Yamamoto: There hasn’t been that much of a major change. But I was able to be particularly careful today. I had situations with a lot of runners on base, but I was relaxed, even pitching from the stretch, and I think it was good.