Yoshinobu Yamamoto has been not only the Dodgers' only completely healthy starter in 2025, he's also been by far their best. He closed his regular season with a 2.49 ERA in 173 2/3 innings and was basically unhittable throughout September, posting a 0.67 ERA in four starts.
However, there were early signs of struggle in his first postseason start of the year. Game 1 of the Wild Card series against the Reds was (mostly) a cakewalk, but Cincinnati put up two runs almost immediately. Yamamoto's command was a little shaky, and he hit his second batter before a Teoscar Hernández error put two runners in scoring position for Reds rookie Sal Stewart to bring in.