The Los Angeles Dodgers kick off Game 1 of the National League Championship Series against the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday at American Family Field.
The highly-touted matchup should be nothing short of entertaining as baseball’s most talented team goes up against the best of the NL.
On Sunday, the Dodgers announced their starters for Games 1 and 2 of the NLCS. Blake Snell is set to take the mound Monday with Yoshinobu Yamamoto poised to follow the two-time Cy Young winner on Tuesday.
Yamamoto spoke to the media just hours before Game 1 in Milwaukee, and was sporting a new hair color. Naturally, he was asked about the evident stylistic change.
“Thank you for the question. It’s not really a subject we talk about here, but thanks for giving me the opportunity to talk about it because the last time my hair was a little bit bright,” Yamamoto told reporters Monday. “So I just went and died it a little darker.”
Yamamoto was also asked whether the change in hair color was a response to his last start, where he allowed three earned runs on six hits in four innings of work against the Philadelphia Phillies.
The Dodgers had the chance to sweep the Phillies with Yamamoto on the mound, but the defending champions couldn’t get the job done in Game 3.
“Last outing my stuff was not initially that bad. Because I allowed recontact, breaking through the gap, because everything was not that bad because hitting, getting contact-wise, giving contact-wise,” Yamamoto said.
“So I think I’d like to focus on more like fundamental part of the pitching, such as, like, location and those things.”
Of all Dodgers starters in the NLDS, Yamamoto had the shortest outing and was also tagged with a 8-2 loss against Philadelphia. LA will need him to turn things around against Milwaukee, a team that is hungry to take down the defending champions.
Could his last start be the reason for Yamamoto’s hair change? The right-hander answered.
“It was not the reason, but I hope this helps to get things going in my direction,” Yamamoto added.
Perhaps the new hair could give Yamamoto a confidence boost as the Dodgers hope to take down the Brewers in the NLCS.
