#yoshinobu-yamamoto

#yoshinobu-yamamoto

Happy Thursday, Dodgers fans. Cactus League play is just around the corner for the Boys in Blue. As we await the joy of getting to see World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto return to the mound on Saturday, here are some of the top headlines from around Major League Baseball. The reigning back-to-back National League manager of the year was rewarded by the team on Thursday.

Who do you think is skinny enough? 'Cause dude, when I threw that first pitch it was so tight on me. I'm like 195 now. I played at like 180, 185. And my arms are so yoked, dude, I couldn't even... I bounced the ball. I couldn't move my arm. It was so tight.

Roki Sasaki came back into the game after a scoreless eighth inning, but quickly found himself in a hole. He plunked Alejandro Kirk and allowed a controversial ground rule double to give the Blue Jays men on second and third with no outs. Tyler Glasnow relieved Sasaki afterwards and got a huge out, forcing Ernie Clement to pop out to first baseman Freddie Freeman and keep the runners in place.

That continued Monday night with Yoshinobu Yamamoto being on hand at Crypto.com Arena to watch the Los Angeles Lakers play the Phoenix Suns. Yamamoto received a customized No. 18 Lakers jersey and posed for a photo with Rui Hachimura, a fellow native of Japan. Yamamoto also gifted Hachimura an autographed baseball. Then during the game, Yamamoto was shown on the video board and received a nice ovation from the fans in attendance.

Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes was voted the unanimous winner of the 2025 National League Cy Young Award, finishing ahead of Philadelphia Phillies southpaw Cristopher Sánchez and the Los Angeles Dodgers' Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Skenes received all 30 first-place votes and garnered 210 overall points. Sánchez finished with 30 votes for second place and 120 total points. Yamamoto finished in a distant third place for Cy Young Award voting by accumulating 72 points.

Paul Skenes, Pirates Despite strong competition from Sánchez and Yamamoto, Skenes very well figures to win his first career Cy Young Award after a third-place finish. Skenes built off an impressive NL Rookie of the Year campaign to sport a 1.97 ERA that led the Majors. Skenes became the first qualified pitcher with a sub-2.00 ERA since Justin Verlander in 2022. Skenes' 216 strikeouts set a career high and were second-most in the NL.

Gausman pitched well for the majority of his outing against the Dodgers. His first inning was about establishing his fastball, which he did. Freddie Freeman stroked a double in the first inning and later scored on a Will Smith single, putting the Dodgers up early. After the first inning, Gausman sailed through the Dodgers' lineup, utilizing his four-seam fastball with solid command. The fastball cuts into right-handed hitters, jamming most bats and missing barrels.

George Springer led off the inning after being beamed in the wrist by a 96 mph fastball. Vladimir Guerrero Jr., the 500 million dollar man, who some are calling the franchise man, ripped a scorching, long single off the wall in left to send Springer over to third. Alejandro Kirk then came up and delivered with a sacrifice fly to deep centre field.

Bo Bichette will be back in the lineup for the Toronto Blue Jays for Game 3 of the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday night. He's expected to start at second base, a position he played for the first time in the majors during Game 1. In his first game back after a knee sprain on September 6, Bichette went 1-for-2 with a walk. Isaiah Kiner-Falefa replaced Bichette as a pinch-runner in the sixth inning.

The way Yosh is throwing right now and the way we're built right now, he could throw 150 pitches if he wants," Kershaw said. "...I just think the way he throws the baseball is like perfect. No wasted movement. So efficient. He came here with a fastball, curveball, split and now he's throwing sinkers, cutters, sliders. So, he's got six pitches with command that he uses really well.