Dodgers Snap Losing Streak with a Walk-Off Win Over the Diamondbacks

On Tuesday night, the Los Angeles Dodgers faced off against the Arizona Diamondbacks for game two of their series. The Dodgers were looking to drop their four-game losing skid after being swept by the Angels and dropping the first game of this series. The pitching staff has clearly hit a rough patch, allowing at least six runs during the four-game stretch, with their largest total of allowed runs being in their 11-9 loss to the Angels. Luckily for Los Angeles, Yoshinobu Yamamoto was on the mound tonight, looking to get things back on track. 

The staff ace, Yamamoto, carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning, until Ketel Marte rained on the parade with a lead-off double. Yamamoto ended up closing out the inning with the Diamondbacks threatening with two runners on. The final statline for Yamamoto was seven innings pitched, nine strikeouts, just two walks, and one hit allowed. He also posted his career-high in pitches thrown with 110.

For the Diamondbacks, it was Ryne Nelson getting the spot start, and he has had plenty of success against the Dodgers in his career. Nelson has pitched a total of 24.0 innings, posted a 2-0 record, with one save and a 1.50 ERA. In fact, he pitched against these Dodgers in the two teams’ last series, shutting down the top of the order. It was a viable effort once again for the righty as he pitched five innings, allowed three hits, gave up one run, and struck out two batters in this one. 

This game started very quietly for both sides, with both pitchers pitching very well. It wasn’t until the bottom of the fourth that Los Angeles got a jolt of offense from Freddie Freeman and Will Smith. With two outs, Freeman laced a double, followed by Smith ripping an RBI single to give the Dodgers a 1-0 lead. That would be the only Dodger run of the night as a struggling bullpen looked to keep the one-run lead intact. 

Once the top of the eighth inning came around, Alex Vesia took over for Yamamoto and struggled in his appearance, allowing the first two batters to reach. He wound up retiring the next two batters before an intentional walk to Marte loaded up the bases for the Diamondbacks. Ben Casparius replaced Vesia, and in a huge spot, he struck out the lone batter he faced, ending the bases-loaded threat. It was time for Tanner Scott to seal the win and snap the losing streak.

Fate would not have it the Dodgers’ way in this one. After retiring the first batter of the ninth inning, Scott would allow Gabriel Moreno to launch a game-tying home run, killing the Dodgers once again. The home run was Moreno’s third home run of the year; all three have been against the Dodgers. Scott finished the inning unscathed, it was now up to the offense to save a spoiled bullpen performance. 

The Dodgers failed to score with two on base with their chance in the ninth inning as the game headed to extra innings. Scott stayed in for his second inning of work, and it did not pay off as Corbin Carroll launched a two-run shot to put the Diamondbacks up 3-1. This now marked the eighth home run allowed by the Dodgers’ bullpen in four games. For Scott, he had come into the night with eight straight scoreless appearances.

Los Angeles did not go down without a fight as Tommy Edman started the bottom half of the inning with an RBI single. The bases were eventually loaded, after a hit by pitch that tied the game, Max Muncy connected on a sacrifice fly to walk the Diamondbacks off. The season-long losing streak was officially snapped. Dustin May gets the start for the Dodgers in tomorrow's rubber match, while Corbin Burnes gets the start for the Diamondbacks.