The Dodgers’ 9-2 loss to the 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.”
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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 highest-scoring 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 All-Star break, Yamamoto (2.85 ERA) will get the week to rest. Before the game Saturday, oberts confirmed Yamamoto, an All-Star for the second consecutive year, will not pitch in the game.
The timing of his start Saturday, three days before the Midsummer Classic, suggested as much. Shohei Ohtani is scheduled to have his left knee drained coming out of the All-Star break and will not travel to Philadelphia. So Justin Wrobleski, who was added to the National League roster Saturday, is the only Dodger set to pitch in the All-Star Game.
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Yamamoto held the Diamondbacks (48-47) to one run through the first five innings. But his final inning quickly unraveled. It started with a leadoff walk and peaked with a three-run home run from James McCann.
The Dodgers finally rallied for two runs in the sixth 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.
Read more: Dodgers pitcher Justin Wrobleski added to National League roster for All-Star Game
Yamamoto’s uncharacteristic sixth inning ended his streak of quality starts at five, including two that lasted eight innings or more. He leads the team with 110⅔ innings pitched.
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“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 single-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.
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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 is scheduled to begin a minor-league rehab assignment next 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 had been sidelined for more than two months with 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.
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“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 on Monday.
Read more: Dodgers’ top MLB draft pick Bo Lowrance eager to emulate Freddie Freeman, Corey Seager
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
