Who would have thought that while Yoshinubo Yamamoto was pitching miles away against the Cincinnati Reds, another game as important as the one the Japanese was trying to win for the Dodgers was being played at his Hollywoord Hill home.
That night of July 30, there was a miscalculation. The thieves didn’t know it. So many goods! So many jewels! So much of everything! They thought the house was empty, but it wasn’t. A dog, out of nowhere, became a hero. Yes, a dog!
Yoshinubo Yamamoto’s dog thwarts robbery
The thieves jumped the fence, broke a glass door… and ran into a guardian who was not in their plan: the Japanese ace’s rescued dog.
According to Noel Sanchez, the Dodgers’ social media producer, the dog’s ferocious barking stopped the thieves in their tracks. Turning on the lights was enough for the intruders to flee without touching anything. “The suspects were unable to get into his house, in part thanks to his dog,” Sanchez said.
It can be said that this dog is an unsung hero. No one knows his name, nor does he have papers. He was not bought in a posh Beverly Hills pet boutique, nor was he brought from Japan to the metropolis of those who play at Chavez Ravine
None of that. It’s about a dog that the pitcher rescued from a shelter and became his best friend
Yamamoto revealed that he adopted the animal after his mother, who worked at a veterinary hospital, accompanied him to a shelter in Los Angeles last year
“I have loved animals since I was a child”
During spring training in Arizona, the animal even shared games with Shohei Ohtani and his dog Decoy.
It’s not the first attempted robbery at the Dodgers
The attempted robbery of Yamamoto adds to a worrying list: teammates such as Freddie Freeman and Max Muncy have already suffered assaults on their homes in recent years. The vulnerability is evident when players are traveling. Some have hired private security; Yamamoto trusted his dog and won.
Outside of the scare, the Japanese right-hander’s season is untouchable: 2.51 ERA in 22 starts, with 139 strikeouts and only 39 walks in 122 innings. July saw him make his first All-Star Game, and his numbers from last postseason (1.72 ERA in key games) remain a benchmark for redemption.
The thieves could not steal his concentration, and opposing batters have not been able to steal his dominance.
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