Yoshinobu Yamamoto's Rough Dodgers Debut Stuns MLB Fans After Record $325M Contract

Los Angeles Dodgers star Yoshinobu Yamamoto has nowhere to go but up after a brutal MLB debut in which he allowed five earned runs on four hits and one walk in just one inning against the San Diego Padres on Thursday.

The first four Padres hitters reached base before Yamamoto was able to record an out. Xander Bogaerts started the game with a leadoff single, followed by Fernando Tatis Jr. getting hit by a pitch, a two-run triple from Jake Cronenworth and a Manny Machado walk.

Expectations were almost unfairly high for Yamamoto coming into this game after he signed the richest contract for a pitcher in MLB history worth $325 million over 12 years.

Fans had a lot to say about Yamamoto's tough debut as an MLB pitcher:

Yamamoto's spring starts suggested he wasn't ready to step in and dominate an MLB lineup. He allowed nine earned runs on 14 hits in 7.2 innings in his last two outings before Thursday.

This series is also an outlier on the regular-season schedule. Both teams are traveling back to the United States after today and will play more spring games this weekend before the regular season resumes on March 28.

Even though Yamamoto certainly would have preferred to be in the game for more than a single inning, this one outing isn't a cause for concern. If he gets through a handful of starts in the regular season and things don't get better, then the panic meter can rise.