Straight Talk: Yamamoto meets media after victory on Opening Day
· Yahoo Sports
"Straight Talk" is a regular feature in which The Sporting Tribune's John E. Gibson offers a full translation of media availability with Dodgers' Japanese superstars Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki. The job of interpreters in the heat of the moment is difficult without the ability to write down questions and answers and re-hear responses for proper context. That's where John comes in to help.
John currently works as a Japanese-English interpreter and covered pro baseball in Japan for about 20 years. His experience includes stints at The Orange County Register, The Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, The Redlands Daily Facts, The Yomiuri Shimbun’s English newspaper in Tokyo and The Epoch Times.
Visit moryak.biz for more information.
LOS ANGELES -- Yoshinobu Yamamoto (1-0) spoke with media members after tossing six strong innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday as the Dodgers won 8-2 on Opening Day behind his five-hit, six-strikeout performance.
Q: It seems like they were pretty quick to hunt the fastball, how much of an adjustment did you make early on in the start, and what do you think allowed you to finish so strong?
Yamamoto: As far as my stuff, I felt like I was able to hit my spots, for the most part and I was going hard from the first inning. I gave up the home run to open the scoring, but I was able to reset and go after the next batter, and I think my pitches got better after that.
Q: Could you tell if they were super aggressive on the fastball early on?
Yamamoto: I’m not so sure about the pitch for the home run, but with other ones I gave up hits on, the location was off or the pitches were high – I just wasn't able to throw those pitches well. I’ll work on making adjustments so that I’m better next time.
Q: Dave (Roberts) and everyone kind of talked about how focused this group is, especially coming into the season after having won back-to-back championships. Why do you think it is that you guys have come in in such a good headspace?
Yamamoto: It’s great to win the opener, that’s fine, but at the same time, the season is long and we need to be connected as a team and push ahead.
Q: Clayton Kershaw was broadcasting the game for television. And he said that you’re a machine, that when the ball comes out of your hand, it’s like a work of art. What does it mean to you to have Clayton Kershaw say those things about you?
Yamamoto: Of course I’m happy about that. Kershaw often said words of praise to me. So hearing that kind of thing just makes me happy and makes me want to go out and work harder.
Q: It’s your first time pitching here since the World Series in a meaningful game. What did it feel like to get that rousing ovation from the fans here at Dodger Stadium here on Opening Day?
Yamamoto: The crowd was going wild even before the game and it was a thrill to be back in front of the Los Angeles fans here again. So we won today, but I want to continue to work hard to perform well here again.
Q: Did it feel sort of inevitable that the offense would break through, the way they did in the fifth inning against (Zac) Gallen?
Yamamoto: I gave up the first runs of the game, so I it was good that they were able to get us the lead. But I had to stay focused on myself to go back out on the mound for the next inning, so that’s how it felt for me.