It seems like the Dodgers have hit the All-Star break prematurely.
Judging by their recent performances, one might think they’ve already kicked off their vacation.
Saturday night was no exception, as the team suffered a 9-2 defeat at the hands of the Arizona Diamondbacks at Dodger Stadium.
The Dodgers’ woes continued with another round of sloppy defense, a problem that had plagued them and contributed to two earlier losses this week. Adding to the slide was an unlikely stumble from All-Star pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who allowed a staggering five runs in the sixth inning, essentially sealing the game.
However, the most alarming aspect of their current slump was the offense, which appeared utterly lifeless, underscoring their recent lack of competency.
For five innings, the Dodgers did nothing against Arizona starter Brandon Pfaadt. And even after they knocked him out with a couple runs in the bottom of the sixth, they squandered a chance to keep building a rally and get themselves back into the game.
Instead, they rolled over meekly the rest of the evening, watching Landon Knack come out of the bullpen for his season debut and give up three more runs to add insult to injury.
What it means
The Dodgers might be cruising toward October already.
But that doesn’t mean they can just sleepwalk their way to continued success.
On Saturday, they were hurt by a couple of misplays at third base from Max Muncy, who committed a throwing error in the third inning and couldn’t stop a double down the line from Tim Tawa in the sixth.
On the latter occasion, Yamamoto couldn’t negate the mistake either. Instead, he followed up an intentional walk to Nolan Arenado by serving up a back-breaking, three-run homer to James McCann, giving him a season-high six runs allowed this season.
Who’s hot
On Saturday? Not much of anyone in the Dodgers’ lineup.
The night started with nine consecutive outs against Pfaadt, who was making just his sixth start of the season after a move out of the bullpen. Then came several missed chances, including a two-on, no-out opportunity in the fourth and the short-lived rally in the sixth.
A double from Tommy Edman and RBI singles from Andy Pages and Mookie Betts got the Dodgers on the board in that latter frame, and forced Arizona to turn to the bullpen with Muncy and Kyle Tucker on deck.
The pitching change to left-hander Brandyn Garcia, however, worked perfectly, with Muncy taking a called third strike and Tucker frustratingly lacing a lineout to shortstop.
On the whole, the Dodgers finished the night with just six hits and were 2-for-8 with runners in scoring position.
Who’s not
Knack made his long-awaited return to the majors on Saturday, getting activated off the injured list pregame following an elongated rehab stint in triple-A Oklahoma City.
Nevertheless, his season debut did not go well, with the right-hander giving up one quick run in the seventh and two solo home runs to Arenado and McCann (his second of the night) in the eighth.
Knack was only activated now because the Dodgers –– fresh off their bullpen game Friday night –– were in need of bullpen coverage.
Struggling right-hander Kyle Hurt was optioned in a corresponding move, but manager Dave Roberts said he expected Hurt to rejoin the team sometime during the second half.
Up next
The Dodgers will try to avoid getting swept as they round out the first half on Sunday, with Emmet Sheehan (4-6, 4.91 ERA) facing off against Arizona rookie Mitch Bratt (who is replacing the injured Zac Gallen).