When the rosters for this year’s Midsummer Classic are revealed on Sunday, Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto stands a strong chance to join teammate Shohei Ohtani, who has already been named a starter for the National League.
Both played pivotal roles in the Dodgers’ 6-1 win over the Chicago White Sox at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday. Yamamoto turned in his longest outing of the season, going seven innings while allowing just three hits, one walk, and one run, striking out eight.
He retired his last 10 batters faced after Chicago’s only run came on an RBI double by Lenyn Sosa in the fourth inning.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto Addresses Potential All-Star Selection
In a recent video from SportsNet LA, Yamamoto, speaking through an interpreter, shared his thoughts on the possibility of being chosen for this year’s All-Star Game at Truist Park in Atlanta.
“It would be such an honor for me if I was voted in,” he said. “That’s Major League Baseball’s top stage where players gather, so that would be an honor for me.” Yamamoto, 26, was a five-time All-Star in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball but is still seeking his first MLB All-Star nod.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto (7.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 8 K) discusses having strong outings in his last two starts and potentially being an all-star this year. pic.twitter.com/24P7zk5IkS
— SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) July 2, 2025
Yamamoto is considered a leading candidate to start for the National League if selected, though Pittsburgh’s Paul Skenes and Philadelphia’s Zack Wheeler are also strong contenders.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, who is in charge of the NL All-Star team this year, may lean toward Yamamoto for the honor.
With a 2.51 ERA and a strikeout rate of 28.6%, Yamamoto ranks among the top three National League pitchers in both categories. He benefited from pitching with a comfortable lead for most of the game against the White Sox, a team on track for its third consecutive 100-loss season.
Roberts praised Yamamoto’s consistency before the game, telling The Athletic, “Certainly, absolutely, he’s one of the top whatever pitchers that need to be on an All-Star roster, for sure.”
Yoshinobu Yamamoto passed his 2024 regular-season innings total (90) in the first inning tonight.
“Certainly, absolutely, he’s one of the top whatever pitchers that need to be on an All-Star roster, for sure,” Dave Roberts said pregame.
— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) July 2, 2025
Meanwhile, Ohtani added to his remarkable season by becoming the fastest player in Dodgers history to reach 30 home runs, accomplishing the feat in the team’s 86th game. He beat Brooklyn’s Duke Snider, who reached 30 homers in the 87th game during the 1955 season, and Los Angeles’ Gary Sheffield, who did so in his 88th game in 2000.
Ohtani previously hit his 30th home run in the Dodgers’ 100th game last year, on July 21, and finished the season with a franchise-record 54 home runs.