Let him press his golden right hand into wet cement on Hollywood Boulevard.
asserted
him → let → Boulevard
Tuesday night in Atlanta, Yamamoto scaled the mound at Truist Park for a start against the Braves in Game 3 of their National League Division Series.
asserted
Yamamoto → scale → Series
With the Dodgers’ season on the line, just pitching well wouldn’t suffice.
asserted
pitching → pitch → line
His unspoken assignment was to outpitch Chris Sale, the former Cy Young Award winner who pitched a complete-game shutout against the Dodgers in late August.
asserted
who → outpitch → August
Yamamoto delivered another heroic October performance, limiting the Braves to one run over the first seven innings of the Dodgers’ 3-1 victory.
asserted
Yamamoto → deliver → victory
The reigning World Series MVP did more than win a game.
asserted
MVP → reign → game
He wrestled back control of the best-of-five series for the Dodgers, who now have a two-games-to-one advantage.
asserted
who → wrestle → advantage
The Dodgers can close out the series on Wednesday.
asserted
Dodgers → close → Wednesday
By completing as many innings as he did, Yamamoto minimized the exposure of the Dodgers’ untrustworthy bullpen.
asserted
Yamamoto → complete → bullpen
By dominating the Braves the way he did, he made Shohei Ohtani’s diminished role on the team a nonfactor.
asserted
role → dominate → team
Yamamoto allowed only one hit over the first three innings, and that came on a bunt by Michael Harris II.
asserted
that → allow → II
Sale broke before he did, the Dodgers taking a 3-0 lead on a two-run homer by Kiké Hernández and a solo shot by Freddie Freeman.
asserted
Dodgers → break → Freeman
Yamamoto’s first and only encounter with trouble came in the fifth inning.
asserted
encounter → come → inning
Yamamoto started the inning by giving up back-to-back singles to Mauricio Dubón and Lane Thomas.
asserted
Yamamoto → start → Dubón
Drake Baldwin grounded out to first base to push in a run, but Yamamoto ensured there would be no further damage by retiring Ronald Acuña.
asserted
Yamamoto → ground → Acuña
The Braves never threatened Yamamoto again, as he retired the side in both the sixth and seventh innings.
asserted
he → threaten → innings
Yamamoto struck out the last two batters he faced, Thomas and Austin Riley.
asserted
he → strike → batters
The Dodgers scored only three runs, but Yamamoto made them stand.
asserted
them → score → runs
Yamamoto gave up only four hits.
asserted
Yamamoto → give → hits
He struck out 10, a career playoff high.
asserted
He → strike → 10
While the Dodgers made Sale work — he threw 24 pitches in the first inning alone — their offense was clearly missing something as Ohtani continued to look overmatched.
asserted
Ohtani → make → something
The Dodgers basically conceded Ohtani would be a nonfactor when they unveiled their lineup.
asserted
they → concede → lineup
Ohtani was batting fifth, his lowest place in a batting order since 2020.
asserted
Ohtani → bat → 2020
In that pandemic-shortened season, Ohtani finished with a .190 average and was handicapped by knee problems.
asserted
Ohtani → shorten → problems
Dropping Ohtani in the order represented an uncomfortable compromise for the Dodgers, who boxed themselves into a corner by how they managed him earlier in the season.
asserted
they → drop → season
Slow to address his physical problems, the Dodgers allowed Ohtani to play through obvious discomfort in the middle of the year, allowing him to injure his right arm and left knee to where there was no chance of him making a reasonable recovery before the offseason.
asserted
him → address → offseason
But the Dodgers also weren’t about to bench Ohtani.
asserted
Dodgers → bench → Ohtani
He’s been the best player in the game for the better part of the last six years, and who was to say he couldn’t deliver a Kirk Gibson moment at a critical juncture in a must-win game?
asserted
he → say → game
Manager Dave Roberts said he made it a point to speak to Ohtani the night before the game about dropping him in the lineup.
asserted
it → say → lineup
Roberts described Ohtani as understanding, saying the four-time Most Valuable Player even joked that he came close to telling the manager last month that he should move him into the No. 7 spot.
asserted
he → describe → spot
But no amount of lighthearted banter could change reality.
uncertain
amount → change → reality
Ohtani remained helpless in the batter’s box.
asserted
Ohtani → remain → box
With two outs and two runners on base in the first inning, Ohtani was thrown a down-the-middle fastball by Sale.
asserted
Ohtani → throw → Sale
He didn’t swing.
asserted
He → swing → ?
Three pitches later, he struck out by waving at a slider that was in the middle of the batter’s box on the other side of home plate.
asserted
that → strike → plate
Ohtani reached base twice — on a catcher’s interference call in the second inning and on a walk in the seventh — but he never looked threatening.
asserted
he → reach → seventh
The Aporia
