The Dodgers believe Yoshinobu Yamamoto tipped pitches

Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s performance in Game 1 of the National League Division Series against the Padres on Saturday night was uneven. He allowed five runs in his three innings of work, equaling his season high. Seven of the 16 batters he faced reached base.

It was as if the Padres knew what was coming from the right-hander. And maybe they did.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts suggested after the club’s 7-5 win that Yamamoto may have tipped off.

“There are a few things that I think we’ll address because I think at second base they had some things with his glove [that were] “Giving away some pitches,” Roberts said. “We’ll clean this up. That’s part of baseball. So it’s up to us to kind of clean it up and not give away what shot he’s going to throw.”

Yamamoto allowed two run-scoring hits while a runner was on second base in his start. In the first inning, he gave up a two-run home run to Manny Machado while Fernando Tatis Jr. took second. Two innings later, with Tatis at second and Jackson Merrill at first, Xander Bogaerts reached Yamamoto for a two-run double.

It’s worth noting that the Padres have had the most success against the top Japanese team of any team this season. They faced Yamamoto in his first major league start during the Seoul Series in South Korea on March 21, scoring five runs in his first and only inning.

Yamamoto expressed no concerns about a possible change of pitch after Saturday’s game. Instead, he mentioned that a deficit in counts and abandoning baserunners caused him to stray from his usual strategy.

“I will review what went wrong and what went well, and then I will make it actionable for the next mission,” Yamamoto said.

The next appearance (if necessary) could be in Game 5 against San Diego on Friday at Dodger Stadium; Roberts said he was “in play” for this potential assignment.