Shohei's blast wasn't enough... Yoshinobu shockingly gives up 3 bombs

Man, today was a tough one!

So check this out — leading off the bottom of the 1st, Shohei grounds one through right-center for a base hit. THIS is what I'm talking about! He got down in the count and managed to fight off a changeup, and from the jump I had that feeling like "he's gonna do something today." Then Smith follows with a sac fly down the right-field line — a 106.5mph liner that brought Shohei home, and just like that we're up 1-0 in the first. YESSS, first strike! I was hollering by myself in the living room, I tell ya.

Yoshinobu... today he just got tagged, man

Then comes the top of the 3rd. Some guy named Hayes for the Giants takes Yoshinobu deep to left-center, a 102.1mph arc into the stands, tie game. I'm sitting there thinking "uh oh, is Yoshinobu's stuff a little off today...?" — and then in the bottom half, SHOHEI delivered! He sat on a sinker that caught too much of the plate and absolutely crushed it — 105.9mph exit velo, 398ft moonshot to left-center! WOOOOO HERE WE GO HERE WE GO! A go-ahead-feeling tying bomb like that, I was losing it — spit my beer out in front of the TV, I swear.

...But man, the top of the 5th, that's where it fell apart. Bader lined one down the left-field line, and then Hayes took Yoshinobu deep AGAIN for his second of the day. Yoshinobu got tagged for a shocking 3 home runs and we were behind. His velo was up to 98mph and he had 8 strikeouts, so it's not like he didn't have stuff — the lineup just wasn't missing the pitches that drifted over the plate. Get 'em next time, Yoshinobu — I know you're not the guy who lets it end like this.

Was hoping Shohei would do more... but

In the bottom of the 5th, they walked Shohei — clearly they're pitching around him at this point. In the 7th he chased a curve for a swinging K, and in the 9th he had a 98.1mph exit velo, but at a 3-degree launch angle there was no way that was getting out... Still, today's Shohei went 1-for-something with a homer and a walk — he absolutely did his job. No complaints from me.

They pulled away late

That Gilbert bunt single at 21.6mph in the top of the 7th — the one we just couldn't field — that one quietly hurt. Then J.H. Lee doubled to right-center and tacked on two more, and that was all she wrote. Final 2-6 — stings, but what can you do.

On to tomorrow! Shohei homered again today, so let's see the Dodgers' resilience kick in once more!