Dodgers' Yamamoto lasts 1 inning in MLB debut

It was an MLB debut to forget for Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

The Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander recorded just three outs, allowing five runs on four hits, one walk, and one hit batter in Thursday's outing against the San Diego Padres in Seoul.

The 25-year-old labored through 43 pitches, with only 23 landing in the strike zone. Yamamoto finished his outing with a strikeout of Jackson Merrill before he was relieved by Michael Grove to start the second inning.

"Obviously, it's not what anyone anticipated," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told ESPN's Daniel Kim during an in-game interview. "He's a fighter, he's a competitor, and he'll rebound from this. It's memorable certainly but not the way we wanted."

Yamamoto wasn't pleased with his outing but said he knows what to change ahead of his next start.

"I wasn't able to execute a pitch from the stretch," the pitcher said, according to MLB.com's Juan Toribio. "I know how to fix it, and I'm going to talk to my pitching coaches Mark (Prior) and Connor (McGuiness) and fix it for my next outing."

Yamamoto joined the Dodgers on a 12-year, $325-million contract this offseason. The deal is the largest guaranteed contract for a pitcher in MLB history.

Yamamoto also struggled during spring training, posting an 8.38 ERA and 1.97 WHIP across 9 2/3 innings in three starts.