The Dodgers finally stopped the slide on Saturday, edging the Arizona Diamondbacks 2-1 in 10 innings to end a seven-game skid. Shohei Ohtani broke the game open with a grounder up the middle in the top of the 10th that brought home Kyle Tucker and gave the Dodgers a lead they did not give back.
The win mattered because it was the Dodgers’ first since July 30, and it arrived with the kind of narrow margin that had been missing during the losing streak. Ohtani also played catch on the Chase Field outfield before the game, a small step that drew more attention because he is still working back toward two-way duties.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto gave the Dodgers the platform they needed. He threw 5 2/3 shutout innings and did not factor into the decision, his first scoreless outing since July 4. After Saturday, he was 2.65 ERA on the season and tied for fourth in the National League in ERA with Cristopher Sánchez. For a team that had gone quiet for much of the past month, that kind of pitching was the difference between another long night and a clean ending.
That is also what made the win feel more like a relief than a rebound. The Dodgers had been held down by an offense that had been mostly missing in action for over a month, so even with the late run they did not look fully restored. They won because Yamamoto kept Arizona from separating, because the bullpen held the line, and because Ohtani found a way to put the ball in play with two outs in the top of the 10th.
Dave Roberts was careful not to make too much of Ohtani’s return path. He said any innings the club gets from him are bonuses and said he was not too concerned about the timeline. That leaves the Dodgers with a simple present tense: one win, one stop to the skid, and one more throwing step from a player they still have not fully put back in place. If Saturday meant anything beyond the standings, it was that the Dodgers can survive a night without their offense at its best, but they still need Ohtani to keep moving forward if they want the next win to look less forced.
