Yoshinobu and the Big Guns Go Wild on the Road

Yamamoto Yoshinobu Battles It Out on the Mound

First things first — Yoshinobu, man. He took the ball and gave us everything he had. Mixing his pitches beautifully, topping out at 97mph with a 90mph average, he racked up 4 strikeouts against 2 walks. Sure, he gave up 5 hits and a home run, but he never let the game get away from us. When they tied it 1-1 with that solo shot in the bottom of the 5th, I was like "oh no..." — but the fact that he held his ground right there was huge. Yoshinobu, you brought it tonight, buddy.

Shohei Struggled Early… But Came Through When It Mattered

Shohei had a rough go of it at first, not gonna lie. First at-bat in the first inning, got fooled by a slider and a sweeper and went down on a called third strike. "Already?!" I thought. Then in the 3rd, he got caught out in front of a changeup and popped it up — 75-degree launch angle, that's practically straight up, ha! In the 5th, he absolutely crushed one down the left-field line — 104.8mph off the bat, 313 feet — and I was screaming "Just a little lower and that's gone!" Hit it on the screws but a 46-degree angle bailed out the pitcher. Tonight's starter was tough, I'll give him that.

But Shohei answered back, like he always does. In the 6th, after the team exploded, he lined one to right-center — 112.3mph. I mean, the swing on this guy is just inhuman. Then in the 8th, a 99.4mph grounder for a single to center. "Even with a big lead, he's still going all out" — man, I fell in love with him all over again.

The 6th Inning Explosion Was Absolutely Insane

This was THE moment of the game. It started with a Muncy error, then Edman lit the fuse with a 105mph RBI triple down the right-field line. And then things got completely unhinged. Tucker launched one to right at 106.7mph, 398 feet — home run. And immediately after, Lux goes 104.1mph to right-center, 399 feet — back-to-back home runs!

"Wait, they just went back-to-back? Are you serious?!" And then before I could even catch my breath — Betts hits one to left-center, 100.9mph, 396 feet — HOME RUN! Three home runs in ONE inning?! I was on my feet in front of the TV losing my mind (lol). Add in Freeman's RBI hit and it's 9 runs in a single inning. I almost felt bad for the Padres… almost. But as a Dodgers fan? That was the greatest inning I've seen in a while.

Final Score 15-3 — A Total Blowout

We kept piling on in the 8th and 9th and closed it out 15-3. Yoshinobu keeping it together early is what set up that second-half explosion — no doubt about it. And Shohei went 0-for-3 then closed with two straight hits, which is just so him. A complete victory here at Petco Park. Let's carry this momentum into the next one!