Shohei's Gutsy Hit After 0-for-3, Yoshinobu's Strong Outing Goes to Waste

Wed, Apr 22, 2026·vs San Francisco Giants·1-3·Ken-chan's Take

Devers' hit in the first put us in a 3-run hole early. Shohei started rough with 2 strikeouts but grinded out a hit in the 7th. Yoshinobu punched out 7 but the bats couldn't back him up — tough loss.

Game SummaryLOSS

1-3

Highlights

Top of the 7th — Shohei battles to a full count and lines a 98mph fastball into center for a single
Yamamoto Yoshinobu settles in after 3 runs in the 1st, grinds out 7 strikeouts in a gutsy outing
Bottom of the 1st — Devers' RBI kicks off a string of hits that puts us down 3-0

Man, what an ugly start from the get-go today…

Away game at Oracle Park against the Giants. Final score: dropped it 1-3. Bottom of the first, Yoshinobu gets tagged right out of the gate — Devers with an RBI knock, then a Schmitt sac fly, and Jung Hoo Lee with another RBI to put us down 3-0 in a flash. Ugh, I was holding my head on the couch — that's not the Yoshinobu we know.

Shohei K's twice in a row, and my beer's not going down

Top of the first, Shohei leading off. Punched out right away?! That last 89mph changeup, he just couldn't hold back the bat. Getting buried 0-2 on two curveballs really hurt. I was telling myself "Next at-bat! Next at-bat!" — but top of the 3rd, another swinging K on the curve. The battery's clearly coming after Shohei's timing today. All breaking stuff, no fastballs to challenge him. Some days are like this, I get it, but two straight punchouts is brutal…

Top of the 5th, curveball again, fly out. But the exit velo was 88.1mph and it traveled 327 feet, so at least the bat was starting to find it. "Come on Shohei, you got this!" I was yelling at the TV.

Top of the 7th — a gutsy liner!

Then comes the 4th at-bat in the 7th. He battles to a full count and lines a 98mph fastball to center for a single. YESSS! Down 3-0 in the count and he grinds it out! Exit velo 82.3mph, kind of a weird-looking hit, but that "I'm NOT making an out" fire from Shohei came through. One hit after nearly going 0-for-3 — THIS is why Shohei is Shohei. I thought the momentum was finally ours…

Yoshinobu was dealing, though

Yoshinobu got shaky in the 1st but settled in after that — final line 28 batters faced, 6 hits, 7 K's, 2 walks, topped out at 97mph, averaged 90mph. Outside of those 3 runs in the 1st, he was shutting the door. The splitter had its usual bite, and 7 strikeouts is no joke. The bats just couldn't claw back those 3 runs. Top of the 4th, Kim Hye-seong drew a bases-loaded walk for 1 run, but we couldn't string anything else together…

Lost it 1-3 in the end

So frustrating. Couldn't give Yoshinobu the run support he deserved, and that's the whole story. Shohei got a hit, and I know the next one's gonna be a big fly. "Flush it and come back tomorrow!" Yoshinobu will bounce back his next start, no doubt. I'm finishing this beer and heading to bed. G'night.