Orix Buffaloes Yamamoto made his
Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) debut on August 20, 2017, three days after his 19th birthday, for the
Orix Buffaloes of the
Pacific League. He pitched in eight games for the Buffaloes farm team in the
Western League and made five starts for the main club, with a 2.35 ERA. and finished second in
rookie of the year voting. The following season, he returned to the starting rotation, with a 8–7 record, 1.99 ERA and 133 strikeouts in 21 games. Yamamoto won the
Pacific League Most Valuable Player Award following the season. On June 18, 2022, Yamamoto threw the fourth
no-hitter in NPB that year, in a 2–0 win over the
Saitama Seibu Lions. In 26 starts for Orix in 2022, Yamamoto registered a 15–5 record and 1.68 ERA with 205 strikeouts in 193 innings pitched. Following the season, he was named the
Eiji Sawamura Award winner for the second consecutive season. He also won his second consecutive pitching
Triple Crown. On September 9, 2023, Yamamoto threw his second NPB career no-hitter, blanking the
Chiba Lotte Marines. He became the first pitcher in NPB history to throw no-hitters in consecutive seasons. Yamamoto pitched in Game 1 of the
2023 Japan Series when he surrendered seven runs in an 8–0 loss. He followed that up with a Game 6 performance in which he threw 138 pitches for a Japan Series-record 14 strikeouts as the Buffaloes tied the series at three games apiece with a 5–1 win. On November 5, the same day as the Buffaloes' Game 7 and series-deciding defeat at the hands of the
Hanshin Tigers, the Buffaloes announced that Yamamoto would be
posted to MLB. He was officially posted fifteen days later on November 20.
Los Angeles Dodgers The
Los Angeles Dodgers signed Yamamoto to a 12-year, $325 million contract on December 27, 2023. The Dodgers also had to pay a $50.625 million posting fee to the Orix Buffaloes.
2024: World Series champion Yamamoto made his major league debut on March 21, 2024, against the
San Diego Padres at
Gocheok Sky Dome in
Seoul, South Korea as part of the
MLB World Tour. He allowed five runs on four hits and a walk in only one inning of work with two strikeouts, the first of which was
Jurickson Profar. The five runs allowed were the most ever by a Dodgers starter in their major league debut pitching an inning or less. On April 6, against the
Chicago Cubs, Yamamoto picked up his first MLB win. He struck out eight while allowing just three hits in five scoreless innings, retiring the last ten batters he faced. On June 15, Yamamoto started against the
Kansas City Royals, but left only two innings into the game with a strained
rotator cuff in his right shoulder. He was placed on the 15-day
injured list the next day. He was transferred to the 60–day injured list in July 13. Yamamoto was activated off the injured list on September 10. In 18 starts for the Dodgers in 2024, he was 7–2 with a 3.00 ERA and 105 strikeouts. He made his playoff debut on October 5, in Game 1 of the
National League Division Series, giving up five runs to the Padres in three innings. In his second start of the series, on October 12, he picked up his first postseason win, striking out two and allowed just two hits in five scoreless innings, retiring the last seven batters he faced, as the Dodgers won the series. He then made one start, in Game 4, in the
National League Championship Series, allowing two runs on four hits in innings, while striking out eight batters. In Game 2 of the
2024 World Series against the
New York Yankees, Yamamoto pitched innings, allowing just one run, a solo home run by
Juan Soto, on one hit. The Dodgers won the World Series after 5 games.
2025: Back-to-back titles, World Series MVP Yamamoto started for the Dodgers on
opening day in 2025 against the
Chicago Cubs in the
MLB Tokyo Series. In the game, he pitched five innings, allowing one run on three hits (an RBI double by
Miguel Amaya), and struck out four batters to pick up the win. On April 18, in a win against the
Texas Rangers, Yamamoto matched his career high of 10 strikeouts in 7 innings. Yamamoto was named the National League
Pitcher of the Month for April, after posting a 1.06 ERA through six starts and struck out 43 batters in 34 innings. Yamamoto was selected to the
2025 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, his first all-star appearance in MLB. On September 6, in a game against the
Baltimore Orioles, Yamamoto was one out away from throwing a
no-hitter when, with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning,
Jackson Holliday hit a home run for the Orioles and he was removed from the game. He had 10 strikeouts in the game and made it past the seventh inning for the first time in his MLB career. Yamamoto finished the regular season with a 12–8 record in a career high 30 starts, with a 2.49 ERA and struck out 201 batters, his highest total since 2022 in Japan. Yamamoto made his first post-season start of 2025 in Game 2 of the
Wild Card Series, allowing only two unearned runs in innings against the
Cincinnati Reds, while striking out nine. On October 14, in the 2nd game of the
NLCS against the
Milwaukee Brewers, Yamamoto gave up a first pitch homer to
Jackson Chourio before throwing a 111-pitch
complete game, his first in the MLB. He was the first pitcher to throw his first complete game in the playoffs since
Josh Beckett in
2003. He was also the first Dodgers pitcher to throw a complete game in the playoffs since
José Lima in the
2004 NLDS and first since
Justin Verlander in the
2017 ALCS for any team. He allowed only one run on three hits while striking out seven in the game. In Game 2 of the
2025 World Series against the
Toronto Blue Jays, Yamamoto again threw a complete game, striking out eight while allowing only one run on four hits. He became the first pitcher to throw multiple complete games in the same postseason since
Madison Bumgarner in
2014, the first to do it in back-to-back games since
Curt Schilling in
2001 and the first Dodger to do so since
Orel Hershiser in
1988. He started again in Game 6, pitching six innings, striking out six, and allowing one run on five hits for his second win of the series. One day later, he came out of the bullpen to pitch scoreless innings to close out the Dodgers' World Series victory in 11 innings. He was named the
World Series MVP for his performance, which included three wins, a 1.02 ERA, and 15 strikeouts. Yamamoto was the first pitcher to get three road wins in a World Series, the first to be credited with three wins in a World Series since
Randy Johnson in
2001, and the fourth pitcher ever to win Games 6 and 7 (the only one along with Johnson to do so on zero rest.) Yamamoto was named a finalist for the 2025 NL
Cy Young Award, finishing third in the voting. ==International career==