The Los Angeles Dodgers weren’t able to build on snapping their losing streak as Yoshinobu Yamamoto went through a stretch of struggling to find the strike zone and sloppy defense surfaced yet again. The Minnesota Twins’ 10-7 win set the series for a rubber match in the rare midweek afternoon game at Dodger Stadium.
After Yamamoto had bookend strikeouts en route to retiring the side in order in the first inning, he labored in the second and was let down by the Dodgers’ defense. A leadoff single and base hit were compounded when a chopper went off Miguel Rojas’ glove, thwarting a likely inning-ending double play.
It was reminiscent of some trouble that previously prompted manager Dave Roberts to be critical of the Dodgers’ focus during their losing stretch.
The Twins took a 1-0 lead on the play and Christian Vázquez extended it with a two-out double that drove in two runs.
The Dodgers appeared primed to cut into their deficit when Freddie Freeman and Andy Pages reached to begin the bottom of the second inning, only for Michael Conforto to follow that by grounding into a double play.
More misfortune struck the Dodgers in the third inning when James Outman hit a 103.2 mph line drive that was caught by Ty France for the start of an unassisted double play at first base.
Andy Pages later lifted them off the mat with a game-tying, three-run home run in the fourth inning. That gave Pages back-to-back games with a homer after he’d last hit one on July 2.
But more bullpen woes popped up for the Dodgers, including another injury, resulting in the Twins taking a decided lead in the sixth inning.
Ben Casparius began his appearance with a leadoff walk, followed by a double and second free pass that loaded the bases. Casparius then walked Carlos Correa on four pitches to bring in a run, at which point he also signaled to the dugout. Casparius came out of the game due to a right calf cramp.
Alexis Díaz allowed two of the inherited runners to score.
Hyeseong Kim hit a two-run single in the bottom of the sixth but the Dodgers never drew any closer. In some sense it was all for naught as Edgardo Henriquez made his 2025 debut by taking over with the bases loaded and one out.
He induced a soft tapper up the first-base line but threw the ball into right field for a three-run error. That proved costly as Shohei Ohtani hit a two-run homer with two outs in the ninth.
Dodgers still atop NL West
Even with their loss, the Dodgers remain 3.5 games ahead of the San Diego Padres for first place in the National League West.
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