One game after a magical walk-off against the Baltimore Orioles, the Dodgers couldn’t get the job done again on Saturday as they fell 3-2.
After both teams could muster just one walk in the first inning, Baltimore began the top of the second against Yoshinobu Yamamoto with a pair of singles from Leody Taveras and Colton Cowser to put runners at the corners with nobody out. Taveras came home on a fielder’s choice from Coby Mayo, but Yamamoto recovered with a pair of strikeouts to end the threat.
Yamamoto retired the side in order in the third inning, but once again allowed a pair of singles to lead off the fourth inning to Samuel Basallo and Taveras. A failed sacrifice bunt from Cowser got the lead runner at third, but Yamamoto walked Mayo to load the bases with just one out. Yamamoto got a crucial strikeouts of Jackson Holliday for the second out, but Blaze Alexander made Yamamoto pay with a two-out, two-run double to give Baltimore a three-run lead.
Yamamoto was able to allow just one baserunner over his final two innings, giving him another quality start. After five consecutive starts of allowing one run at most, Yamamoto allowed at least three runs for the first time since allowing five on May 12 against the San Francisco Giants.
As for the Dodgers offense behind Yamamoto, they fell back into their old habits of failing to provide any run support, as left-hander Trevor Rogers’ only blemish over his first four innings was a walk to Andy Pages in the bottom of the first. He faced the minimum over his first 14 hitters until Tommy Edman broke up the no-hit bid in the bottom of the fifth inning. Saturday was Rogers’ first scoreless outing since his 2026 debut— where he also had seven scoreless innings— and it was the first time he struck out six since April 14.
Edman supplied the Dodgers’ second hit of the game against Rico Garcia to lead off the bottom of the eighth inning, but the Dodgers would go down quietly in order.
In his first game back from the paternity list, Shohei Ohtani displayed some new “dad strength” with a home run against Andrew Kittredge leading off the bottom of the ninth, thwarting the shutout and putting the Dodgers on the board.
Taylor Ward made a diving catch to rob Pages of extra bases, but Kittredge walked Freddie Freeman to bring up the potential tying run in Mookie Betts. Against Yennier Cano, Betts hit a ground ball to third that was knocked down by Mayo at third and was initially called safe at first, and an unsuccessful challenge from Baltimore officially put the tying run on base.
Alex Freeland came in to pinch hit for Miguel Rojas, but flew out to left for a crucial second out. Edman lined a ball to right that would’ve ended the game, but Taveras bobbled the catch, leading to Freeman scoring to make it a one-run game with the tying run at third base. The Dodgers couldn’t complete the comeback, as Cano struck out Kyle Tucker to end the night.
Game particulars
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Home runs— Shohei Ohtani (16)
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WP— Trevor Rogers (4-7): 7 IP, 1 hit, 0 runs, 2 walk, 6 strikeouts
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LP— Yoshinobu Yamamoto (7-5): 6 IP, 6 hits, 3 earned runs, 2 walks, 6 strikeouts
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SV— Yennier Cano (1): 2/3 IP, 1 hit, 0 runs, 0 walks, 1 strikeout
Up next
The Dodgers look to end their homestand with a 5-1 record as they wrap things up against the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday (1:10 p.m. PT). Emmet Sheehan faces Brandon Young.
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