Yoshinobu Yamamoto has rough start as Dodgers drop series to Arizona
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- Dodgers continue to stumble on final weekend before the All-Star break, losing 9-2 to the Arizona Diamondbacks in an all-around flat performance.
- Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s run of dominant starts ends after he gives up six runs and five hits over six innings in the loss.
- The Dodgers have reason for optimism heading into the second half with three top pitchers getting closer to returning.
The Dodgers’ 9-2 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Saturday wasn’t enough to prevent them from going into the All-Star break with the best record in the majors — that much is ensured. But the uninspired all-around performance sealed a series loss on the final weekend of the season’s first half.
“It was a clunker,” manager Dave Roberts said. “The last three out of five [or] four out of five games, it just hasn’t been clean baseball. So when you give teams free bases, extra outs, it’s hard to win a game, regardless of opponent. ... We’ve got to find a way to win a game [Sunday] to feel somewhat better about going into the break.”
The Dodgers (61-35) put little pressure on the Diamondbacks pitching staff. And Dodgers starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto wrapped up his first-half campaign with his worst start of the season; he surrendered six runs in six innings.
“He still had a really, really, really good first half,” Roberts said.
Over the break, Yamamoto (2.85 ERA) will get the week to rest. Before the game, Roberts confirmed Yamamoto, an All-Star for the second consecutive season, will not pitch in the Midsummer Classic.
The timing of his start Saturday, three days before the exhibition, suggested as much. Shohei Ohtani is scheduled to have his left knee drained coming out of the break and will not travel to Philadelphia for the festivities. So Justin Wrobleski, who was added to the National League roster Saturday, is the only Dodger set to pitch in the All-Star Game.
Yamamoto held the Diamondbacks (48-47) to one run through the first five innings. But his final inning quickly unraveled. The trouble started with a leadoff walk and peaked with a three-run home run from James McCann.
The Dodgers rallied for two runs in the sixth on RBI singles by Andy Pages and Mookie Betts and then fell quiet again. The Diamondbacks then scored three runs against Landon Knack in his three-inning season debut coming off the injured list.
Dodgers left-hander Justin Wrobleski is added to the National League MLB All-Star Game roster as a replacement for Reds right-hander Chase Burns.
Yamamoto’s uncharacteristic sixth inning ended his streak of quality starts at five, including two of eight or more innings. He leads the staff with 110-2/3 innings.
“Overall, there’s good outings,” Yamamoto said through interpreter Yoshihiro Sonoda. “And also physically, condition-wise, it’s been good. And I hope that I can carry this into the second half.”
Yamamoto’s workload, along with Wrobleski’s emergence, has helped the Dodgers weather injuries to pitchers who were expected to be major contributors.
In a promising sign for closer Edwin Díaz’s recovery timeline, he started a rehab assignment with class-A Ontario on Saturday. Díaz made just seven appearances for the Dodgers before undergoing an operation to remove loose bodies from his right elbow in late April.
“He’s been throwing pretty effortlessly, free, maybe a week after he started throwing,” pitching coach Mark Prior said.
He estimated that Díaz would return in about three to four weeks if his progression goes smoothly.
Blake Snell — who also had loose bodies removed from his pitching elbow, undergoing a NanoNeedle Scope procedure on May 19 — threw two simulated innings to batters Saturday.
Snell was scheduled to begin a minor-league rehab assignment over the weekend, Roberts said. Prior believes Snell will need at least four to five outings, likening it to a spring training buildup.
“The goal would be to get him fully built up to 90ish pitches before he comes back,” Prior said.
Tyler Glasnow, who has been sidelined for more than two months because of a lingering back injury, threw a bullpen session Friday.
“It was like 95, 96 [mph] in his ’pen, but he does that rolling out of bed when he’s healthy,” Prior said. “But it’s a good sign.”
Glasnow has had plenty of back and forth in his rehab, however. Twice he started playing catch only to be shut down when back spasms returned.
“The schedule is starting to move with a little bit more consistency than it had been,” Prior said. “So he’s in a good spot.”
Glasnow is scheduled for another bullpen session Monday.
The Dodgers say they didn’t expect Bo Lowrance to be available and were happy to draft the 6-foot-5, 200-pound high school infielder.
