Yamamoto delivers, lifts Dodgers over Mets

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto (18) throws a pitch against the New York Mets during the first inning at Dodger Stadium.

LOS ANGELES — At a certain point, the aesthetics of a game like this start to feel beside the point.

On a sun-splashed Tuesday afternoon at Dodger Stadium, the Dodgers didn’t just beat the Mets, 2-1. They leaned into something that is becoming increasingly clear through 17 games: when Yoshinobu Yamamoto is on the mound, they don’t need much else.

They’re now 13-4, another series win secured, another reminder that their formula can be as simple as this: elite pitching, one timely swing, and just enough at the end.

This one belonged to Yamamoto.

A duel worth the price of admission

For three pitches, it looked like it might unravel quickly.

Francisco Lindor jumped a first-inning offering and sent it soaring over the right-field wall, a no-doubt solo shot that stunned the crowd and, briefly, put the Dodgers in a 1-0 hole.

It would also be the last time the Mets truly solved Yamamoto.

From that point forward, the right-hander was surgical. Efficient. Relentless. He didn’t allow another hit until Bo Bichette sliced a two-out double down the left-field line in the sixth, and even that moment dissolved as quickly as it appeared.

Everything else? Weak contact, late swings, and a growing sense that the Mets were simply guessing.

Yamamoto’s final line—7 2/3 innings, four hits, one earned run, seven strikeouts on 104 pitches—only tells part of the story. The 22 whiffs tell the rest. He wasn’t just getting outs; he was dictating terms.

Afterward, Dave Roberts didn’t overthink it.

“Right now, this is who he is here, as one of the elite pitchers in baseball.”

Yamamoto, for his part, pointed to the steady climb he’s felt with each outing.

“Every outing, I'm starting to feel better and better.”

McLean matches, until he can’t

Lost in Yamamoto’s brilliance was just how good Nolan McLean was on the other side.

The Mets’ right-hander allowed a run in the first, then locked in. Through seven innings, he scattered just two hits, struck out eight, and kept a Dodgers lineup, one that rarely looks this out of sync, guessing all afternoon.

It wasn’t looking pretty for the Dodgers while McLean was on the mound. But the moment he left the game, the Dodgers jumped on their bullpen immediately.

For long stretches, it felt like a mirror image. Two starters, different styles, same result: zero margin for error. For Yamamoto and McLean, the performances were nearly identical. The difference was simple: the Dodgers’ offense backed their ace when it finally had the chance.

New York Mets pitcher Nolan McLean (26) throws a pitch against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the first inning at Dodger Stadium.

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

New York Mets pitcher Nolan McLean (26) throws a pitch against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the first inning at Dodger Stadium.

The inning that flipped it

Tied 1-1 in the eighth, the Dodgers finally nudged the door open. Miguel Rojas worked a leadoff walk. A sacrifice bunt moved him into scoring position. Then, with first base open, the Mets made the predictable decision: put Shohei Ohtani on.

The intentional walk didn’t just load the bases—it extended Ohtani’s on-base streak to 48 games, now the fourth-longest in Dodgers history.

It also handed the moment to Kyle Tucker.

Tucker hasn’t exactly been scorching to start the season. Entering the day, just two extra-base hits. Some mistimed swings. Some frustration, even if he wouldn’t quite call it that. Then came a line drive that won a game.

It wasn’t crushed. It simply dropped into left field, scoring Rojas and finally giving the Dodgers their first lead of the afternoon.

“It was nice to come up with a huge hit right there, you know, get the run in, win the game, so I'll take it,” Tucker said postgame.

Asked if the slow start has weighed on him, Tucker shrugged it off.

“Not really,” he said. “I feel like I get myself out at times. With certain swings, I feel like I should drive more up the middle or gap to gap that I end up popping up or fouling off. At times, it’s kinda just part of the game but it’s still early in the season, we still got like five and a half months to the end of the year. We have plenty of time to figure it out.”

For at least one at-bat, he already had.

“Just grinding through the at bats, I'll take my walks and stuff, come up with a huge right there, get the run in and win the game.”

There was still work to do.

Roberts pushed Yamamoto into the eighth, and for a moment, it looked like the right-hander might finish what he started. Two quick outs. Then, suddenly, traffic—back-to-back singles and a dugout stir as both Blake Treinen and Alex Vesia began to get loose.

Roberts made the call.

Yamamoto’s day ended after 7 2/3 innings, a final push that showed both trust and awareness, 94 pitches stretched to 104, dominance giving way to just enough trouble. Treinen entered and struck out Luis Robert Jr. to extinguish the threat, stranding two and preserving the slim lead.

The ninth belonged to Vesia. Three batters. Three strikeouts. Ballgame.

The takeaway

There’s a temptation to frame this as a gritty win, or a sign of resilience, or any number of early-season clichés.

But the truth is simpler.

The Dodgers are 13-4 because they can win like this. Because on days when the offense sputters, they can hand the game to a pitcher like Yamamoto and trust that he’ll shrink it to something manageable. Because even when a hitter like Tucker is still searching, he’s capable of delivering the one swing that matters.

And because, increasingly, Yamamoto looks exactly like what they believed they were getting.

“Every outing,” he said, “I’m starting to feel better and better.”

For the rest of the league, that’s the more significant development than any single result in mid-April.

The series continues Wednesday on Jackie Robinson Day, with Ohtani set to take the mound against Clay Holmes as the Mets try to avoid a sweep.