LOS ANGELES — When the Dodgers scouted Yoshinobu Yamamoto in Japan, they envisioned him starting for the team in must-win postseason games. And once Los Angeles acquired him last offseason, Yamamoto was always going to be a big part of L.A.’s success.
And he was early this season, showing the arsenal that made him one of the most coveted free agents of the winter and looking like one of the best pitchers in baseball through the first two months, with a 2.92 ERA on June 15. But a right rotator cuff strain suffered in June seemed to halt that early success and potentially end his rookie MLB season.
Three months later — with plenty of MRIs, rehab and waiting in between — Yamamoto made his return to the Dodgers’ rotationon Sept. 10, but after a long layoff, he wasn’t quite himself. He made it through five innings only once in his final four starts of the regular season, and he even had some issues …