Despite some late struggles from the bullpen once again, the Los Angeles Dodgers prevailed to defeat the Arizona Diamondbacks in extra innings with a 5-4 victory.
The Dodgers jumped out in front to an early lead when Shohei Ohtani hit a leadoff triple and scored on a sacrifice fly from Mookie Betts in the first inning. Ohtani thought he had a homer, but his ball traveled to one of the deepest parts of the ballpark and hit off the top of the center field wall.
The Diamondbacks answered back in the first inning, with Ketel Marte starting their rally with a leadoff double. After a ground out and a walk, Gabriel Moreno hit a sacrifice fly that tied the game, 1-1, but the D-Backs left Corbin Carroll stranded at second after he stole the base.
Andy Pages put the Dodgers back on top with a two-run homer in the fourth inning to make it a 3-1 game. Tommy Edman started them off with a one-out single and scored on the home run.
Blake Snell turned in another strong start, continuing a trend for Dodgers’ starting pitchers, He tossed six innings of one-run ball with just five hits allowed while adding five strikeouts to one walk.
After allowing the run in the first inning, Snell provided the Dodgers with five consecutive shutout innings to exit with the lead.
Roki Sasaki made his return to the Dodgers, entering as a reliever following Snell. The Dodgers are giving him the opportunity to earn a bullpen role, and he impressed in his first opportunity.
Sasaki consistently sat 99 mph with his fastball and showed off his elite splitter to toss a perfect inning. He struck out two batters and also forced a weak ground out while recording three whiffs.
The Dodgers added some insurance in the eighth inning with an RBI-triple from Teoscar Hernández. He drove in Mookie Betts, who reached on a single.
But after taking the three-run lead, the Dodgers’ bullpen once again blew it for them.
Alex Vesia entered in the eighth, and allowed a single and two walks before a double from Carroll made it a 4-2 game. Edgardo Henriquez then took over for Vesia, and he immediately allowed an RBI infield-single, cutting the lead to one. A sacrifice fly then tied the game.
With the game still tied in the ninth, Clayton Kershaw entered in relief as he prepares for a bullpen role in the postseason. He tossed a perfect inning to send the game to extra innings.
After the Dodgers’ didn’t score in their half of the 10th, the Diamondbacks loaded the bases with a pair of intentional walks against Jack Dreyer, who also recorded two outs, and then Blake Treinen recorded the final out to send it to the 11th.
Tommy Edman singled home the go-ahead run with two outs in the 11th, and Justin Wrobleski entered to record the save with a pair of strikeouts. It was his second save this season.
Dodgers’ magic number for division title
Thanks to a loss from the San Diego Padres earlier in the day, the Dodgers’ magic number now sits at just one. They can clinch the National League West division title as early as Thursday with a win or a loss from the Padres.
However, the Dodgers were eliminated from contention for a bye in the first round of the MLB postseason. They are guaranteed to play in the Wild Card Series, but their seeding and opponent is still to be determined.
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