Yoshinobu Yamamoto reflected on his outing after the game, saying he did not necessarily feel that his overall sensation on the mound was exceptional, but that many of his pitches landed exactly where he wanted them. That precision, he explained, gave him the confidence to attack hitters throughout his start.
Yamamoto also pointed to his splitter usage as a key factor behind his fastball's effectiveness. He noted that he threw the pitch frequently during the outing, and that doing so helped him establish a good balance between his pitch types, which in turn made his fastball play up.
Asked whether hitters' awareness of his splitter, or his ability to work the edges of the strike zone, played a bigger role in his fastball success, Yamamoto suggested it was more about how attention shifts. He explained that when hitters start focusing on the splitter, or when they are sitting on pitches up in the zone, his fastball tends to become even more effective as a result. He added that his overall feel for the pitch has remained strong.
Yamamoto also spoke about his growing trust in the automated ball-strike system, saying he has been pitching with confidence within that framework and that its high accuracy rate has been a significant help to him on the mound. He did not view any particular strike-zone shift as offering him a special advantage, saying he generally stays composed and simply registers that the count itself has changed, without feeling that it gives him greater comfort or margin for error.
Looking back on being pulled after seven innings for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Yamamoto admitted he had wanted to finish the eighth inning himself. He acknowledged that his pitch count was close to the limit by the time he got through the seventh, and said he found it frustrating not to be able to see the game through to the end on his own.