"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 stars Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki. He will also help translate when Lakers star Rui Hachimura and LA Galaxy captain Maya Yoshida are asked questions in Japanese.
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 as a sports reporter 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.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto speaks after the Dodgers beat the Astros in the series opener. #Dodgers pic.twitter.com/t2AoRrj6hO
— Fredo Cervantes (@FredoCervantes) May 5, 2026
HOUSTON – Los Angeles right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto (3-2) delivers six strong innings – working around a wobbly first – to collect eight strikeouts, while walking one and surrendering just five hits, as the Dodgers top the host Houston Astros 8-3 on Monday night. Yamamoto allows a pair of hits, a walk and uncorks a run-scoring wild pitch in the first inning as the Astros plated two, but bounced back with five innings of one-run ball to notch a quality start and earn the victory.
Q: Yoshi, when you look at just the first inning, compared to the second, how did you find just settling back in after the pitch count got up, and then, of course, being so efficient after that first inning?
Yamamoto: Yeah, in that first inning I think I was trying a little too hard. And it’s a tough thing to do, but I tried various ways to find just the right amount of effort to throw with and I gradually found it.
Q: You were getting the swing and miss, and with your strikeouts most of them were swinging strikeouts. What does that say to you just as to where your pitches are at right now?
Yamamoto: I wasn’t using the kind of form to get or throw a strike, I was just able to throw well within my own motion and that resulted in the right amount of velocity and movement, and I think that’s why I had more strikeouts.
Q: When your offense breaks out early like they did, how does that help you kind of loosen up and find that rhythm?
Yamamoto: It was a very big help. I gave up runs in the first inning today, so I just made the effort to keep my concentration and focus on each inning.