Yoshinobu Yamamoto emerged from the Orix Buffaloes’ clubhouse over an hour after Game 1 of the Japan Series and strode through the center of a pack of reporters watching his every move. The star pitcher then stopped to share a brief greeting and smile with a friend before hopping into a black car and riding off into the night.
There was nothing outwardly extraordinary about the scene in the parking lot beneath Kyocera Dome Osaka. It was the crushing weight of what came a few hours earlier and the uncertainty of what comes next that added gravity to the moment. As the car Yamamoto was in rounded the bend and disappeared from view, the prevailing question left unanswered in the air was whether he had just pitched in his final game in Japan.
If he had, it was an ending no one — not even the Hanshin Tigers — probably envisioned. Yamamoto, the Orix ace who is widely expected to move to MLB this offseason, allowed seven runs in the Japan Series opener as the Tigers roared to an 8-0 victory.
Yamamoto had the worst start of his career, allowing seven earned runs for the first time in either the regular season or postseason.
The Tigers did all their damage against him in two innings. Koji Chikamoto provided the highlight of a four-run fifth — Yamamoto allowed that many runs in an entire start only once in the regular season — with a two-run triple, and Seishiro Sakamoto knocked Yamamoto out of the game with an RBI double in the sixth.
Yamamoto spoke to reporters immediately after the game before disappearing into the clubhouse.
“I started off well but then gave up some runs midway through,” he said. “I feel like it’s a huge loss because it was such an important game.” Yamamoto became the second pitcher in Japan Series history to allow seven runs, joining the DeNA BayStars’ Shoichi Ino, who did it against the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks in 2017. He fell to 0-2 with a 4.74 ERA in four Japan Series starts.
”It’s the end of the year, there are various reasons to be fatigued,” Orix manager Satoshi Nakajima told reporters. “Sometimes you allow hits.” Yamamoto was 16-6 with a 1.21 ERA during the regular season. His most recent postseason results, however, have been the polar opposite.
Yamamoto allowed five runs against the Chiba Lotte Marines in his only start in the Pacific League Climax Series on Oct. 18. In last season’s Japan Series against the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, he gave up four runs in four-plus innings in his lone start.
What happens next for Yamamoto is up to the Buffaloes’ players and front office — in that order.
If the Buffaloes hold off the Tigers long enough on the field, Yamamoto may have another chance to pitch in the series.
“Our goal is to become the top team in Japan,” he said. “I want to prepare and make sure I can help the team.” When the series ends, the ball is in the front office’s court, as it decides whether to make him available to MLB teams via the posting system one year after allowing outfielder Masataka Yoshida to make the same move.
ESPN MLB Insider Kiley McDaniel listed Yamamoto at No. 4 on his ranking of potential MLB free agents in August.
“His contract should easily clear Kodai Senga’s deal last winter (five years, $75 million plus posting fee) as Yamamoto is 5 years younger and a comparable talent but with better command,” McDaniel wrote for ESPN.com on Aug. 23.
Despite his stumbles this postseason, there are no questions about Yamamoto’s ability.
Since becoming a full-time starter in 2019, Yamamoto has a 1.65 ERA in 820⅓ regular-season innings.
“He throws high 90s and all the secondary pitches are good,” said Buffaloes infielder Marwin Gonzalez, an 11-year MLB veteran who won the World Series with the Houston Astros in 2017. “He has a great curveball, obviously a great split and he throws cutters too.”
He has already won almost everything there is to win in Japan. The Okayama Prefecture native is the two-time reigning Pacific League MVP and Sawamura Award winner and is favored to make it three straight in both cases this year. He helped Japan win gold at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, led the Buffaloes to a Japan Series win in 2022 and was on the Samurai Japan squad that won the World Baseball Classic this spring.
Executives and scouts from across MLB have come to Japan to watch him in person. New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman was in attendance when Yamamoto threw a no-hitter, the second of his career, against the Marines in Chiba on Sept. 9. Farhan Zaidi, president of baseball operations for the San Francisco Giants, was at Yamamoto’s Climax Series start, reported Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic.
Many envision him walking into the No. 2 spot in an MLB rotation.
Gonzalez said that in addition to Yamamoto’s dizzying array of pitches, including a forkball some scouts rate higher than Senga’s vaunted “Ghost Fork,” his command makes him stand out.
“That’s what I think makes him different from the other guys,” Gonzalez said. “He not only has quality pitches, he commands them the way he wants.
“It’s hard to see a high quality pitch, and if it’s painted, it’s extra hard to hit. Even if he throws it in the middle it’s hard to hit, but if he paints the corners, it’s even harder.
“That’s one of the qualities that he has. People in the States are probably wondering if he’s good just because of his pitches. I would say that his command is the best thing he has.” There will be a bidding war when and if Orix makes him available.
Before that, however, the Buffaloes will try to give him another shot at his first win in a Japan Series.