# Yamamoto dominates as Dodgers near NL West crown

> The right-hander threw seven scoreless innings in a one-hit masterpiece against Cincinnati, rounding into playoff form at the perfect time.
- Title: Yamamoto dominates as Dodgers near NL West crown | Shortify
- Summary: The right-hander threw seven scoreless innings in a one-hit masterpiece against Cincinnati, rounding into playoff form at the perfect time. Yoshinobu…
- Keywords: yoshinobu yamamoto, los angeles dodgers, cincinnati reds, nl west, dave roberts, mlb playoffs, great american ball park, freddie freeman, teoscar hernández, world series, news, entertainment
- Source: California Post — https://nypost.com/2026/09/15/sports/yoshinobu-yamamoto-dominates-reds-as-dodgers-near-nl-west-title
- Published: 2026-09-16T01:16:09+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: yoshinobu yamamoto, los angeles dodgers, cincinnati reds, nl west, dave roberts, mlb playoffs, great american ball park, freddie freeman, teoscar hernández, world series, news, entertainment
## Yamamoto's playoff-ready performance
Yoshinobu Yamamoto threw a one-hit masterpiece over seven scoreless innings against the Reds. It was his most dominant outing in at least two months.
## Vintage form after shaky start
After walking his first two batters, Yamamoto retired 21 of the next 22 with seven strikeouts. Manager Dave Roberts called it "vintage Yama."

> After the first two hitters, it was vintage Yama. Just attacking, not trying to be too fine.
## Quick outs on soft contact
Yamamoto's dominance came from easy outs on harmless contact, mirroring his ace performance during last year's postseason run.
## Hoping for less heroics needed
The Dodgers hope they won't need Yamamoto to pitch back-to-back complete games like last postseason. But Roberts says "all bets are off" in October.

> You can't just try to create that during the regular season because you want these guys as strong and healthy for the October run [as possible].
## Freeman returns, breaks slump
Freddie Freeman returned from his knee injury and snapped a 3-for-30 slump with three singles. He had missed three games in the past week.
## Hernández powers offensive surge
Teoscar Hernández hit a two-run homer in the third inning. He's batting .417 with four homers and 18 RBIs over his last 14 games.
## Magic number down to one
The 4-0 win lowered the Dodgers' magic number to clinch the NL West to just one game.
## Rotation key to October success
No position group will be more important than the starting rotation in the playoffs. Yamamoto and Tarik Skubal both threw seven scoreless innings this week.
## Key takeaway

Yoshinobu Yamamoto delivered his most dominant start in months, throwing seven scoreless innings as the Dodgers moved within one win of clinching the NL West.