Dodgers' Yoshinobu Yamamoto goes 7 scoreless innings in 4-3 win over Diamondbacks

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts uses the word ace sparingly when it comes to his pitching staff. He bestowed it upon Yoshinobu Yamamoto before his start against Arizona, and the Japanese right-hander lived up to the billing.

Yamamoto fired seven scoreless innings, allowing one hit and two walks while striking out nine batters in a no-decision on Tuesday night. The Dodgers rallied for a 4-3 win in 10 innings over the Diamondbacks to snap a four-game skid.

“That was a great game,” Yamamoto said through a translator. "A win like this is great.”

Ketel Marte singled on a 3-1 pitch leading off the seventh to break up the no-hit bid.

“I wasn't really thinking about it,” Yamamoto said of his bid, knowing his pitch count was high.

Marte walked in the fourth for Yamamoto’s first baserunner. Yamamoto walked Gabriel Moreno in the seventh to put runners on the corners.

The crowd of 51,932 rose to its feet and broke out in cheers when Yamamoto retired Pavin Smith on a swinging strike to end the inning.

“I was able to contribute to today’s win,” Yamamoto said. "I’d like to continue bringing my contribution to the team.”

He threw a career-high 110 pitches, including 62 strikes, in his fourth start of the season without allowing a run. Yamamoto's six no-hit innings were the longest stretch of his career.

Yamamoto joined the Dodgers last season after signing a $325 million, 12-year contract in December 2023.

“He’s really confident in his ability. I think that the success that he’s had has given him more conviction to execute pitches, to get ahead,” Roberts said. “He was dialed in today from the first pitch. Wasn’t stressed at all. Stayed in his throw. I thought everything was consistent all night.”

Yamamoto leaned on his curveball and his splitter was working well, too.

“He’s always had good fastball command,” catcher Will Smith said. “Just mixing it up, keeping them off-balance, going up, down, in, out, all that. He just executed. It was really fun.”

Max Muncy’s sacrifice fly to center scored Shohei Ohtani with the winning run in the 10th. The Dodgers scored three runs in the inning after Arizona took a 3-1 lead in the top half on Corbin Carroll’s two-run homer off Tanner Scott.

“You don’t want to waste that great of an outing,” Roberts said.

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Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto delivers a pitch during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks in Los Angeles, Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto gestures during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks in Los Angeles, Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto reacts after striking out Arizona Diamondbacks' Pavin Smith during the seventh inning of a baseball game in Los Angeles, Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto delivers a pitch during the first inning of a baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks in Los Angeles, Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto delivers a pitch during the first inning of a baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks in Los Angeles, Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto delivers a pitch during the first inning of a baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks in Los Angeles, Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

LJUBLJANA, Slovenia (AP) — Slovenia’s parliament on Friday appointed right-wing populist politician Janez Jansa as the new prime minister, in a shift for the small European Union country that was previously run by a liberal government.

Lawmakers backed Jansa in a 51-36 vote in the 90-member assembly. The new prime minister will need to come back to Parliament within the next 15 days for another vote to confirm his future Cabinet.

Jansa's appointment concludes a postelection stalemate in Slovenia after a parliamentary ballot two months ago ended practically in a tie. Former liberal Prime Minister Robert Golob's Freedom Movement won by a thin margin but he was unable to muster a parliamentary majority.

Jansa and his populist Slovenian Democratic Party signed a coalition agreement this week with several right-wing groups. The new government also has the backing of a nonestablishment Truth party that first emerged as an anti-vaccination movement during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The new term in office will be the fourth for the veteran Slovenian politician. Jansa, 67, is an admirer of U.S. President Donald Trump and was a close ally of former populist Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who was defeated in a landslide election last month.

Jansa in a speech listed the economy, fight against corruption and red tape, and decentralization as key goals of the future government. He has promised to lower taxes for the rich and support private education and healthcare.

Critical of the previous government's alleged “inefficiency," Jansa said the new government will turn Slovenia into “a country of opportunity, prosperity and justice, where each responsible citizen will feel safe and accepted."

Like Orban, Jansa was staunchly anti-immigrant during the huge migration wave to Europe in 2015. Also like Orban, Jansa has faced accusations of clamping down on democratic institutions and press freedoms during a previous term in 2020-2022. This led to protests at the time, and scrutiny from the European Union.

Golob in his speech described Jansa as “the greatest threat to Slovenia’s sovereignty and democracy."

Alleging that Jansa had threatened to arrest him, Golob said Jansa's "idea of democracy is that anyone who dares speak a word against you deserves only the worst.”

Jansa, a supporter of Israel, also has been a stern critic of the Golob government's 2024 recognition of a Palestinian state.

The vote on March 22 was marred by allegations of foreign influence and corruption. The around 2 million people in the Alpine nation are deeply divided between liberals and conservatives.

Janez Jansa, center, addresses the Slovenian Parliament during a session in Ljubljana, Slovenia, Friday, May 22, 2026, before appointing him as prime minister, ending a political deadlock after tight elections in March. (AP Photo/Igor Kupljenik)

Janez Jansa arrives for a session of the Slovenian Parliament in Ljubljana, Slovenia, Friday, May 22, 2026, before appointing him as prime minister, ending a political deadlock after tight elections in March. (AP Photo/Igor Kupljenik)

Janez Jansa addresses the Slovenian Parliament during a session in Ljubljana, Slovenia, Friday, May 22, 2026, before appointing him as prime minister, ending a political deadlock after tight elections in March. (AP Photo/Igor Kupljenik)