In the hunt for their first three-peat in franchise history, the Los Angeles Dodgers are setting themselves up on the right foot. 

With an offseason to remember, many are still pondering their 2025 World Series clash against the Toronto Blue Jays.

The most notable constant that stood out throughout the series was the consistent dominance of Yoshinobu Yamamoto. 

Yamamoto produced videogame-esque numbers in the Fall Classic, going 3-0 and notching an ERA a tick above 1. 

In turn, he not only cemented his legacy in Dodgers history but also earned himself the 2026 Opening Day nod for consecutive years, per Dodgers manager Dave Roberts.

He will become the second Dodgers pitcher since Sandy Koufax to record the final out of a World Series and begin the next year as the Opening Day starter.  

Last year, the Dodgers began the season at the historic Tokyo Dome against the Chicago Cubs, which was Yamamoto's first Opening Day start. 

He held the Cubs to one run over five innings pitched. 

Now, he looks towards facing off against National League West foe, the Arizona Diamondbacks, on March 26 at Dodger Stadium. 

He'll be the first Dodgers pitcher to make consecutive Opening Day starts since Clayton Kershaw started season openers from 2011-18. 

Yamamoto is returning to camp after a brief World Baseball Classic tenure for Team Samurai Japan. 

In two starts for Samurai Japan, he held Chinese Taipei and Venezuela to just two runs and posted an ERA of 2.70. 

He is in camp earlier than expected, as Samurai Japan were upset by Venezuela in Saturday's quarterfinals game. 

Yamamoto looks to capitalize on a superb 2025 campaign, in which he did not miss a single start for the Dodgers and acted as the premier ace. 

In 30 starts for the 27-year-old, he recorded a 12-8 record and a 2.50 ERA in 173 2/3 innings pitched. 

Those stats placed him third in last year's 2025 National League Cy Young Award ballot behind unanimous winner Paul Skenes and Cristopher Sánchez. 

Shohei Ohtani will also join alongside Yamamoto as they return to Dodgers camp. 

There are implications that Yamamoto could make one more Cactus League start within the next 10 days, but nothing has been revealed yet. 

Before leaving for the WBC, Yamamoto started in two Cactus League starts. 

He has four total starts this spring and has looked major league ready from the jump, but one more ramp-up start wouldn't hurt either.  

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