"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 Clippers star Rui Hachimura and L.A. 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.
NEW YORK – Yoshinobu Yamamoto steps up by shutting down the New York Yankees down for his first regular-season complete game as the Los Angeles Dodgers scramble early and break it open late in an 8-2 victory at Yankee Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Yamamoto (10-6) allows a pair of runs on just four hits, with no walks and seven strikeouts to win the opener of a twin bill.
Q: Yoshi, just to be able to throw a complete game – I know you’ve done it before in the postseason – but to do this in the regular season, especially on a day on which there’s a doubleheader, how important was it for you just to find ways to be efficient to get deep into the game?
Yamamoto: Well, when I initially took the mound, I wasn’t thinking too much about the fact that there was a doubleheader, and I went into it the same way I usually do. But it was great to be able to go nine today when we have a doubleheader.
Q: What do you think was the key to navigating through their lineup, getting the soft contact and just being efficient?
Yamamoto: I just tried to go at the batters and pitch the way I usually do, and I was able to execute my pitches.
Q: Yoshinobu, this is I think about the least amount of swing and miss you’ve had in a start but certainly still effective. How did you change, knowing that you didn’t really have the swing and miss, to still get the results you wanted?
Yamamoto: I was able to throw without any wasted effort and my location was good, so a lot of at-bats ended quickly and I think that led to me having a good day on the mound.