The Los Angeles Dodgers continued to trudge along as the All-Star break looms, putting together another subpar performance in a second consecutive loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks that now has them facing the prospect of getting swept.
Coming off a lopsided defeat in the series opener, the Dodgers were hurt Saturday by an uncharacteristic performance by Yoshinobu Yamamoto not managing to produce much offense. They also committed their seventh error in the last four games despite manager Dave Roberts calling for improvement on that front.
Diamondbacks 9, Dodgers 2: key takeaways
Yoshinobu Yamamoto comes undone
Making his final start before being among the group of Dodgers going to Philadelphia for the All-Star Game, Yamamoto provided six innings but struggled as his outing came to a close.
Yamamoto initially was holding the Diamondbacks at just one run, which still was being bested by Brandon Pfaadt. The night also included a rarity from Yamamoto as he walked four batters. It marked only his second start this season of more than two walks.
One of the free passes he gave out was in the fourth inning and resulted in the Diamondbacks going on to score the first run of the game. Yamamoto then issued a leadoff walk in what turned into a five-run sixth inning.
Following a sacrifice fly that put Arizona up 2-0, Tim Tawa tagged Yamamoto for an RBI double. Tawa entered the weekend with eight RBI on the season, and after his double was up to five in the series. A curious decision to intentionally walk Nolan Arenado immediately backfired as James McCann’s first home run of the season broke the game open at 6-0.
McCann slugged a second homer in the eighth inning.
Dodgers can’t rally
The Dodgers didn’t have their first hit until Shohei Ohtani’s leadoff single in the fourth inning. Ohtani is continuing to play through left knee irritation before having it drained at some point after Sunday’s game.
They remained scoreless into the sixth inning, when Tommy Edman’s leadoff double was later cashed in on an RBI single by Andy Pages. Freddie Freeman’s base hit put two on and Mookie Betts made it three singles in a row to chase Pfaadt from the game.
The pitching change wound up stymying the Dodgers’ momentum and they never threatened again.
Landon Knack’s season debut
Fresh off being activated from the 60-day injured list, Landon Knack pitched three innings in his 2026 debut. It was a game to forget as Knack allowed three runs. Knack replaced Kyle Hurt on the roster.
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