The Los Angeles Dodgers continued their road trip with a 5-3 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks in what marked their first head-to-head meeting of the season.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto started on one day of shorter rest than usual and allowed five runs over five innings of work. The right-hander gave up two home runs, including a grand slam to Gabriel Moreno in the fourth inning.
Despite at one point trailing by five runs, the Dodgers nearly mounted a comeback as they brought the tying run to the plate in the top of the eighth. The rally was thwarted, however, when Michael Conforto grounded into an inning-ending double play.
The veteran outfielder expressed frustration after another hitless game that included failing to deliver in such a key moment, via Jack Harris of the L.A. Times:
“I’m definitely frustrated,” Conforto said. “Happy with a couple hard-hit balls today. Frustrated to be in position to keep a rally going and not being able to beat that ball out. It’s frustrating. It makes me sick.”
The Dodgers challenged the out call at first base, but it was upheld and the top of the eighth came to an end. They inched a little closer in the ninth inning when Shohei Ohtani hit a two-out home run, but ultimately fell short of completing the comeback.
Conforto finished 0-for-3 with a walk in the series opener against the Diamondbacks, but some bad luck was involved as all three of his outs had a registered exit velocity of at least 95.2 mph.
Conforto is 1-for-his-last-40 dating back to April 25. He is hitting just .135/.278/.225 with four doubles, two home runs and six RBI in 35 games this season.
Michael Conforto ‘unlocked something’ with swing
Manager Dave Roberts is optimistic that Conforto will soon get back on track, noting adjustments he made to his swing with Dodgers hitting coaches.
Although the changes haven’t yet translated to success at the plate, the team has to be encouraged that Conforto is hitting the ball harder with more consistency.
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