The Dodgers will try to shake off a rough Friday night and even their series with the Diamondbacks on Saturday, leaning on Yoshinobu Yamamoto to steady things before the All-Star break.
Los Angeles dropped the opener 9-3 in a bullpen game after Shohei Ohtani was scratched as the pitcher, and Dave Roberts didn’t sugarcoat what he’s seen lately.
“It has been sloppy two of the last three games. Don’t know the reason for it.
Obviously, it never feels good to not convert outs,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “It’s one of those things that we have to get better at.
That’s just not what we do."
The Dodgers have built enough cushion in the National League West that a stumble here and there hasn’t knocked them off course, but Saturday gives them a chance to clean things up with their ace on the mound. Yamamoto is making his 17th and final start before the break, and he’s been excellent all season: 9-5 with a 2.49 ERA over 104.2 innings, plus 100 strikeouts, 21 walks and a 0.88 WHIP.
He already saw Arizona once this year, too. On Opening Day, Yamamoto worked six innings and gave up two runs while striking out six.
The Diamondbacks are sending Brandon Pfaadt to the hill. He enters with a 4.84 ERA in 48.1 innings, and his season has already had some movement - he began as a starter, shifted to the bullpen, and has since returned to the rotation. Against the Dodgers last month, he came out of the bullpen and allowed two runs on three hits in one inning.
Los Angeles is also making a couple of lineup tweaks against the right-hander. Tommy Edman is starting at second base, which sends Alex Freeland to the bench, and Max Muncy is back in the lineup as well.
First pitch for Dodgers-Diamondbacks is set for 6:10 p.m. PT/9:10 p.m.
ET on Saturday, July 11. The game will air on SportsNet LA and in the MLB app, with radio coverage on AM570 in English and KTNQ 1020 AM in Spanish.
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