RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 1 sourcesPHOENIX — There were no signs of euphoria Saturday, just sheer relief.
There was music briefly in the visiting clubhouse, but then it was quickly turned off.
The Los Angeles Dodgers got dressed in a hurry, boarded the team buses, and vowed that it will get better in time.
But finally, for the first time this month, and the first time since they angered the baseball world by acquiring two-time Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal at the trade deadline , the Dodgers finally won a game.
Their seven-game losing streak , one shy of their longest in nine years, is over.
It was hardly pretty − and even ugly at times − but, hey, a win is a win.
The Dodgers won, 2-1 in 10 innings over the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field.
“Oh man, that was a tough one,’’ Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said in his office. “It wasn’t pretty.’’
The powerful Dodgers, who had been averaging just 3.5 runs a game during their losing streak, needed 38 plate appearances just to score two runs on this night. They got a run on $60-million-a-year man Kyle Tucker’s homer in the eighth inning. They survived $23-million-a-year closer Edwin Diaz’s blown save in the ninth inning. And they got a run on $700-million-man Shohei Ohtani’s infield single in the 10th inning.
They produced just six hits, one extra-base hit, drew four walks, and somehow won.
“Offensively, we’ve just got to get going,’’ Roberts said. “You know, it’s just hard to win games when you know your margin for winning is a razor’s edge. It’s not like guys aren’t trying, but it’s a tough way to pitch and have to be perfect.
“... We got to be better. To score one or two runs to win, it’s just a hard quality of life, you know? I understand hitting’s hard. But we got a lot of talent in there.’’
While the Dodgers keep waiting for their powerful offense to awaken, the Dodgers pitching staff, behind ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto, was nearly flawless. Yamamoto pitched 5⅔ scoreless innings. Five relievers pitched 3½ shutout innings. And even when Diaz blew his second save in 24 hours, giving up back-to-back triples to open the ninth inning, he settled down and retired the next three batters, leaving Corbin Carroll stranded at third base.
“That was the first game I saw this year where he had some real intensity,’’ Roberts said. “I think you saw that once they scored the run. Man on third base, nobody out, you saw the intensity pick up. The fastball got better. The slider got better. Talking to him after the game, that’s how we have to be from the first pitch.’’
The most outward emotion shown the entire night was by the Dodgers’ seventh pitcher of the night, Jack Dreyer, who picked up his first save of the season. He entered the game in the 10th, struck out Tim Tawa, gave up an infield single that catcher James McCann beat out by a half step, and then induced a double play bouncer from rookie Ryan Waldschmidt.
Dreyer stood on the mound and screamed into the night, pounding his fist into his glove.
“I’ve never done that before,’’ Dreyer said. “I’m typically not like an emotional guy. I think it was the most emotion I’ve ever shown. … But it was huge from us. Especially, with the seven straight (losses), we need to get back on track.’’
The Dodgers (70-47) can exhale again. Their NL West Division lead is back up to 8½ games. They’re tied with Atlanta for the second-best record in the National League, which comes with a first-round bye. And yes, they know they can survive a losing streak, which has become part of their tradition since the start of their dynasty 13 years ago.
Let’s see, they endured a 12-24 stretch last season, blew their nine-game division lead ... and then still won the division by three games, and wound up celebrating their second consecutive World Series title.
They had an 8½-game lead in August 2024, which was slashed to two games ... but they still won the division by five games, and were the last team standing in October.
And, there was the 2017 season, when they had a 1-16 meltdown from Aug. 26-Sept. 20 ... only to still win the division by 11 games, and still wind up in the World Series.
“I remember that vividly,’’ Roberts tells USA TODAY Sports. “I didn’t think we were going to win a game. And we were zeroing in on the playoffs. We were playing for the best record and I was like, 'I don’t think we’re going to make it.'"
Does a winning streak or losing streak mean anything in a pennant race when you already have a postseason berth all but mathematically clinched?
“There’s no correlation,’’ Roberts says. “That’s why a lot of people go, 'Oh, you haven’t played well going into the postseason, does that mean you’re going to play bad?’ No. 'If you play well, does that mean you’re going to win the World Series?' Clearly not.
“That’s what’s great about our game. You can talk about it. You can philosophize on it. Debate it. There’s just not one way. You’ve got to go out there and play.’’
Well, certainly it helps the ol’ confidence by sprinkling in a few victories, and who knows, maybe a few hits, too.
The Dodgers also have an influx of help coming on the mound. Skubal will make his home Dodgers debut on Monday . Blake Snell, who has pitched only three innings this season, is scheduled for Tuesday . And Ohtani threw a bullpen session for the first time in 17 days, vowing to return to the mound, likely in September.
Ohtani, who last pitched on July 3 because of an inflamed left knee, didn’t even tell Dodgers pitching coach Mark Prior that he planned to throw. He began throwing plyos in the visitor's bullpen before the game, before playing catch from about 90 feet on the field.
It’s no secret that Ohtani, 8-2, 1.79 ERA, wants to return to the mound this season to not only claim a spot in the rotation for the postseason, but perhaps to clinch his fifth MVP award while he’s at it.
“I do think that him getting out there and playing catch,’’ Roberts said, “is a step in the right direction.’’
So was the Dodgers’ victory, no...
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