The Los Angeles Dodgers got absolutely rocked Friday night, dropping a 9-3 decision to the Arizona Diamondbacks at Dodger Stadium, but it wasn't just the D-backs' bats that sealed their fate. Sloppy play and three costly errors were too much for the Dodgers offense to overcome, even with some early fireworks. Arizona, now sitting at 47-47, pulled away late against a Dodgers team that fell to 61-34.
Ohtani's Bad Knee, Back-to-Back Blasts, and an Early Hole
This game kicked off with a ton of drama. D-backs came out swinging, getting back-to-back 0-2 singles against Kyle Hurt. Gabriel Moreno then slapped an RBI base hit to right, and a throwing error by Tucker let another run score, putting the Snakes up 2-0 early. But hold up, here's where it gets wild: Shohei Ohtani, who was scratched from his final start of the season because of continued left knee inflammation, still stayed in the lineup. And what does he do? Crushes a leadoff homer, his 21st, to cut the lead to one! Then, All-Star Andy Pages steps up and ties it at two runs apiece with a massive 419-foot solo blast off a Rodriguez sinker, his 17th of the year. Back-to-back homers, baby! Will Klein was the next arm out of the bullpen and managed to strand Corbin Carroll at second in the third, preserving the tie.Defense Goes Full Meltdown Mode
Then, the wheels absolutely fell off. The D-backs snatched the lead back in the fourth when Tim Tawa took a Brock Stewart four-seamer for a ride for his second homer of the season, and they never looked back. Arizona just kept cashing in checks written by the Dodgers' defense. A botched throw from Dalton Rushing in the fifth was the fifth Dodgers error in the last three games. That mistake helped a scoring groundout extend the D-backs lead to three. Later in the inning, a wild pitch by Edgardo Henriquez brought in another run, making it 6-2. The sloppy play just kept coming, allowing the D-backs to score twice in the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings. Freeman held onto a grounder hit back to him by Geraldo Perdomo, allowing an eighth run to cross, and Tawa singled in another run off Evan Phillips in the eighth to make it 9-2. A Miguel Rojas RBI double in the ninth got one back, but the game was long over. Edguardo Rodriguez picked up the win, going 6 innings, giving up 2 runs, while Will Klein took the loss.What's Next for LA
That was a rough one. Three costly errors and only three at-bats with runners in scoring position, going 0-for-3 and stranding six runners, just isn't gonna cut it. The Dodgers will look to bounce back in their next game with Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who boasts a 9-5 record, 2.49 ERA, and 0.88 WHIP, taking the mound. They need to clean up the defense big time if they want to get back on track and maintain that dominant record.This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.