The Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the San Diego Padres 5-2 on Wednesday morning in Seoul, South Korea to kick off Major League Baseball's regular season. The two sides will meet again on Thursday morning before returning to the United States. The regular season will then resume on March 28 with the year's official "Opening Day."
As with Wednesday's game, which saw Shohei Ohtani and Tyler Glasnow (among others) make their Dodgers debut, Thursday's contest will feature yet another notable first. That's because Yoshinobu Yamamoto will take the mound in an MLB game for the first time in his decorated career.
Yamamoto, who signed a 12-year contract worth $325 million over the winter, is the most accomplished pitcher in the world to not yet appear in an MLB game. He concluded his career in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball league by winning three consecutive Most Valuable Player and Eiji Sawamura Awards (think their Cy Young equivalent). Here's part of what CBS Sports wrote about him over the offseason:
Talent evaluators have raved to CBS Sports about Yamamoto for years, citing his high-grade command over a good arsenal as the most impressive part of his game. He throws a mid-90s fastball about half the time, complementing it with a swing-and-miss splitter and a high-spin curveball. Each of those pitches went for a strike at least 65% of the time this season, reinforcing the notion that he paints with a fine-tip brush.
In other words, you're going to want to see Yamamoto for yourself. How can you do that? Here's the pertinent viewing information.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto makes MLB debut
Date: Thursday, March 21 | Time: 6:05 a.m. ET (3:05 a.m. PT)
Location: Gocheok Sky Dome (Seoul, Republic of Korea)
Live stream: fuboTV (try for free), MLB.TV | TV: ESPN, SportsNet LA
Probable pitchers: RHP Joe Musgrove (SD) vs. RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto (LAD)
Odds: LAD -183 | SD +152 | O/U: 8.5
