bullpen

Fifteen minutes before first pitch on Sunday, Giants catcher Logan Porter trotted in from the visitor’s bullpen. He’d usually be accompanied by the starting pitcher, which was set to be left-hander Kyle Harrison.

Instead, Porter stood on the first-base line for the national anthem, turned to his left and whispered to his teammates. As they all received the information from Porter — reminiscent of the children’s game “Telephone” — other Giants teammates likely learned one-by-one that Harrison had been traded.

“It was crazy,” Dodgers second baseman Tommy Edman said. “You don’t expect a trade like that this time of year and just getting the pitching change at the last minute.”

The odd scene at Dodger Stadium was because of a reported blockbuster trade that involved the Boston Red Sox sending infielder Rafael Devers to the Giants in exchange for Harrison, right-hander Jordan Hicks and two prospects — a move that further bolsters the talent in the L.A.-San Francisco rivalry.

“Those guys over there are doing a great job of putting a team together and obviously, they want to win,” said shortstop Mookie Betts, who was teammates with Devers in Boston from 2017 to 2019.

San Francisco manager Bob Melvin was forced to turn to long reliever Sean Hjelle, who rapidly warmed up for the start, against a Dodgers offense that had scored 11 runs Saturday night. As Betts said after the game, no matter who the Giants were going to throw at them in response, they were prepared. The Dodgers had done their “homework,” he said.

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It was more of the same from the Dodgers’ offense in a 5-4 victory Sunday. The top of the order manufactured a run via an Andy Pages sacrifice fly in the first inning. Edman hit a solo home run — his 10th — in the second. Pages put a cherry on top in the fifth after Shohei Ohtani (three for three, one walk) and Mookie Betts set the table with singles.

The Cuban slugger’s three-run home run helped the Dodgers (43-29) restore a two-game lead over the Giants (41-31) in the NL West standings.

“It’s really emotional, a special moment to hit a home run in that situation because I haven’t seen him,” Pages said through an interpreter, speaking about his father back in Cuba. “It’s hard sometimes. But it was really special to hit a home run on Father’s Day.”

On the mound, Dustin May was looking to get back on track.

May’s recent starts left more to be desired from the former top prospect who had been struggling with his command and not tallying many swinging strikes. He had struck out just six batters across his last 11 innings — striking out just one in his last outing.

Although May couldn’t find his strikeout pitch, his start Sunday was the sixth time he had pitched through the sixth inning in 2025. He walked four batters for the second time in as many starts — the only time he’s issued at least four free passes in back-to-back games in his career — and struck out three batters. He didn’t have his best stuff, but showed his mettle in the fifth inning.

Dodgers pitcher Dustin May delivers against the Giants at Dodger Stadium on Sunday.

(Luke Johnson / Los Angeles Times)

Whereas he crumbled in the fourth, giving up a two-RBI triple to Jung Hoo Lee to give the Giants a 3-2 lead, he battled out of a bases-loaded jam to keep San Francisco at bay, inducing Porter into an inning-ending groundout.

After Pages further strengthened his All-Star case with his 13th home run, the Dodgers’ bullpen took care of business. Alex Vesia tossed a shutout seventh, while Kirby Yates (one run) and Tanner Scott (zero runs and struck out the side) finished it off in the eighth and ninth, respectively.

“It was good to see us find a way to win a ballgame,” manager Dave Roberts said. “Dustin got a little traffic there in the fourth but he finds a way, as he has shown, to still manage to get through six and to use the guys we wanted to and win a ballgame.”

Sasaki’s status uncertain

Ohtani will start Monday against the San Diego Padres, but it’s still not clear when right-hander Roki Sasaki will return. Roberts said Sasaki (right shoulder impingement) recently halted his throwing program.

“There was some rubbing, is the word he used,” Roberts said. “He’s pain-free. When we start that build-up, it should be soon. He’s already moving around. We all feel encouraged where he’s at right now, as far as the pain.”

The Dodgers placed the 23-year-old rookie on the injured list May 13. Roberts did not specify what Sasaki’s condition is other than that he’s out indefinitely.

Piecing together the starting rotation for the week ahead, Emmet Sheehan is set to be activated Tuesday or Wednesday, Roberts said.

Twelve weeks into the season, the Dodgers are already turning to a 12th different starting pitcher in their revolving door of a rotation.

For Ben Casparius, it’s an opportunity he’s patiently waited for all season.

Though Casparius is technically still a rookie, the 26-year-old right-hander has seen a lot in his young MLB career. Last year, he went from starting the season as an overlooked double-A prospect (one who didn’t even get an invite to big-league spring training) to finishing it pitching key innings in four postseason games, including as an opener in Game 4 of the World Series.

This spring, a rash of bullpen injuries ensured he’d have a spot on the opening-day big-league roster. More injuries to top right-handed relievers pushed him into a de facto leverage role.

At every step, the former fifth-round draft pick has excelled, posting a 2.86 ERA over 44 innings this year with 46 strikeouts and only nine walks.

Along with fellow rookie reliever Jack Dreyer, Casparius has become one of the unsung heroes responsible for helping the first-place Dodgers overcome their injury-riddled start.

“We don’t win this game tonight without Ben,” is the kind of quote manager Dave Roberts has uttered more than once, and most recently after Casparius pitched 2 ⅔ scoreless innings of relief in a come-from-behind win against the New York Mets on June 3.

“He’s had to grow up really quickly for us,” Roberts added that night, “and he’s got the respect of his teammates.”

Now, however, Casparius is getting a new level of respect from the team’s decision-makers, too.

After exhausting virtually all their other starting pitching alternatives to this point — from struggling minor-league arms such as Landon Knack, Bobby Miller and Justin Wrobleski, to a bulk-inning option such as Matt Sauer — the Dodgers are finally entrusting Casparius with a starting role.

For all the value he brought in the bullpen, they simply couldn’t afford to keep him out of the rotation any longer.

“Where we were at [earlier this season], we felt that there was more value [having him come] out of the ‘pen and being kind of a versatile type reliever,” Roberts said. “But where we are at now currently, he’s certainly showing that he’s 1 of 5.”

Casparius got his first shot at a more traditional start on Wednesday in San Diego, producing four innings of one-run ball in an outing he didn’t know he was making until the night before.

In the days leading up, the Dodgers had lost Tony Gonsolin to an elbow problem — already their fourth starter to get injured just since the start of the season. They had demoted Knack to the minors, and watched Wrobleski give up four runs in six innings to the St. Louis Cardinals as his replacement. They saw Sauer get roughed up as a bulk-innings pitcher Tuesday against the Padres, and Miller implode in a 10-run outing in triple-A that same night.

Suddenly, the team was down to just three healthy starters it could trust: Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Dustin May and Clayton Kershaw.

Emmet Sheehan might be part of that group before long, continuing his recovery from Tommy John surgery with a third triple-A rehab start on Thursday in which he pitched 3 ⅓ innings (once he completes four innings, Roberts said, he will be a viable option for the big-league club). Shohei Ohtani, Tyler Glasnow and Blake Snell are also making progress towards returning, though none of them are likely to be back until sometime next month.

Emmet Sheehan, left, with Ben Casparius and River Ryan during the World Series ring ceremony in March, made his third triple-A rehab start on Thursday.

(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

Thus, with a Wednesday rubber match against the Padres looming, the Dodgers decided to reassign Casparius from multi-inning reliever to their latest fill-in starter.

“We like this kind of transition right now,” Roberts said. “Figuring out how we get through this period before we get other guys back to health … potentially there’s a chance to continue to build him up, which right now makes sense.”

In a win over the Padres that kept the Dodgers in sole possession of first place of the NL West entering another key series this weekend against the San Francisco Giants, Casparius responded with quality production. He limited damage (with the help of an Andy Pages outfield assist) to one run during a bases-loaded jam in the second. He retired the side in order in each of the other three innings he pitched.

Most notably, he also fought to take down an inning more than initially expected — lobbying to stay in the game for the fourth despite Roberts’ pregame assertion he likely wouldn’t pitch past the third (not since May 5 had Casparius thrown more than three innings in an outing).

“He wasn’t going to come out of that game after three,” Roberts said. “He wanted to stay in for the fourth.”

It gave Casparius the chance to flash his full arsenal of starting-caliber stuff; from a big-breaking combination of sweepers and curveballs, to a late-biting cutter that can induce soft contact, to an upper-90s mph fastball that, one point, even Padres star Manny Machado outwardly endorsed, pointing to Casparius with an approving nod of his head after swinging through a 98-mph heater up in the zone for a first-inning strikeout.

“I saw that,” Casparius said. “He’s one of the best players in the game, so it’s pretty cool.”

Casparius also showcased his evolved mental approach.

During his minor-league career, Casparius started in 57 of his 79 career appearances. Moving to the bullpen full-time at the start of his major league career gave him perspective he believes will benefit him in his return to a starting role now.

“Taking that reliever mindset, pitch by pitch, inning by inning, has helped me to slow the game down in general,” Casparius said. “So I think it’s been kind of a blessing. And then whatever happens going forward, I think I can just use that to keep going.”

Eventually, Casparius could be shifted to the bullpen again. Once the Dodgers get healthier, his value as a multi-inning relief option will likely mean resuming his swingman role.

But for now, Roberts has already confirmed that “the next time he’s on the mound, it will be as a starter.”

And for a pitcher who, despite his success out of the bullpen, has continued to view himself as a starter long-term, it represents an opportunity that might have been borne of out necessity, but was also long-ago earned.

“Obviously, I’ve been doing it for the majority of my professional career, so it’s something I’m comfortable with routine-wise,” Casparius said of starting games. “I’m just looking forward to what’s going on and what’s coming up next.”

The most important pitches for the Dodgers on Tuesday came long before the start of their game that night.

In the second of a key three-game series against the San Diego Padres, the Dodgers found themselves in an uncomfortably familiar position: Lacking an available starting pitcher amid a wave of early-season injuries, and turning instead to a collection of minor league arms thrust into big league duty; set to open the game with Lou Trivino, and then have Matt Sauer pitch bulk innings.

It’s not what the Dodgers envisioned entering the year, when they expected to have a rotation of potential All-Stars on the mound every day.

It was eerily similar to the circumstances they faced last October –– their Game 4, elimination-staving win against the Padres in last year’s National League Division Series, specifically.

Earlier Tuesday, however, the Dodgers had reasons for optimism: These current circumstances might not last much longer.

Hours before the game, Shohei Ohtani, Tyler Glasnow and Blake Snell took notable steps in their recovery from injuries.

For the first time in a while, they could start to see light at the end of the pitching tunnel.

On the Petco Park mound, Ohtani threw the third live batting practice in his continued recovery from a 2023 Tommy John surgery, hurling 44 pitches over three simulated innings while racking up six strikeouts against a pair of rookie league hitters from the organization.

Back in Los Angeles, Glasnow threw the third bullpen session of his recovery from a shoulder inflammation injury, and could be getting close to facing live hitters himself in the near future.

And after Ohtani finished his session in San Diego, Snell threw 15 pitches in the bullpen, his first full bullpen session since suffering a setback in his recovery from shoulder inflammation back in April.

“Really encouraging,” manager Dave Roberts said. “You can start to see us get to the other side. It’s stuff to look forward to.”

Ohtani’s live session was the day’s biggest development. He made a significant jump in workload, going from the 29 pitches he threw two weekends ago at Dodger Stadium to a 44-pitch outing Tuesday that concluded with 23 throws in his third and final inning. But, after battling poor command in his previous live BP, he showed increased consistency and sharpness with all of his pitches, giving up just a ground-ball single and a lone walk while including 15 swings-and-misses with a variety of offerings.

“It wasn’t just pure power and velocity,” pitching coach Mark Prior said of Ohtani, whose fastball averaged around 94-96 mph. “He got some swing-and-misses on his off-speed pitches. He’s being able to keep guys off balance and mess up their timing. There’s different types of misses. I think from that standpoint, those are good things.”

Roberts came away so encouraged, he even hinted at a more optimistic timeline for when Ohtani –– who hasn’t pitched in a big league game since August 2023 –– might be able to join the team’s active rotation, saying the chances are “north of zero” that the right-hander could return before the All-Star break.

In recent weeks, Roberts had said Ohtani wouldn’t be back until after the Midsummer Classic.

“It’s tempting,” Roberts said. “I’m sure Shohei feels tempted to just kind of rip the Band-Aid off and get into a big league game. But I think we’re doing a good job of being patient. And truth be told, I don’t think anyone knows the right time to get him in a big league game. We’re still being very careful, I guess.”

Another notable development from Roberts on Tuesday: Ohtani might not have to complete “a full build-up” before pitching in big league games.

“Anything he can give us is certainly additive,” Roberts said, an idea underscored by Ohtani’s two-way player status, which would effectively make him an extra arm on the Dodgers’ staff without counting against their 13-pitcher roster max.

“I still stand by him, and [head team physician] Dr. [Neal] ElAttrache and the training staff are going to drive this,” said Roberts, who wasn’t sure when Ohtani would throw his next live session. “I’m just anxious for the next one.”

Glasnow and Snell have more steps to complete in their comebacks, from their own live sessions to likely minor league rehab stints.

Prior also noted that those two will have to be more fully built up before they are activated, given the already overworked state of the Dodgers’ bullpen.

Still, Snell said after two months of lingering shoulder pain earlier this year, the breakthrough he has experienced in the last two weeks has renewed his confidence about how he’ll perform when he returns.

“I’m very excited,” he said after throwing at about 70% intensity level in his 15-pitch bullpen. “After this ‘pen, the ramp up is gonna start, and I can start pitching, and I know I’m gonna be a factor on the team again.”

Prior offered similar encouragement with Glasnow’s recent work, noting his fastball is up to 95-96 mph.

“Everything looks good,” Prior said of Glasnow. “He really has been feeling good and the ball has been coming out really good.”

In the meantime, the Dodgers will have to continue to tread water. They currently have only four healthy starters in the rotation between Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Clayton Kershaw, Dustin May and Justin Wrobleski. And though Emmet Sheehan could be an option to return from his own Tommy John surgery after one more start in his minor league rehab next week, the recent loss of Tony Gonsolin –– and continued absence of Roki Sasaki, who has yet to progress past light catch play –– has only further limited the club’s pitching options.

That’s why, even on a day the Dodgers were patching together a pitching plan once again, they were finally feeling hopeful about the long-term state of their staff.

Ohtani, Snell and Glasnow are finally making strides toward returning.

The star-studded pitching staff the club had been planning for this season might soon become a reality once again.

The Dodgers’ lineup should be back at full strength soon.

When they’ll be able to say the same about their pitching staff is anyone’s guess.

First, the good news for the team: After fracturing the fourth toe on his left foot (the one closest to the pinky toe) last week and missing all three games against the New York Yankees, shortstop Mookie Betts went through a full slate of pregame hitting, baserunning and defensive drills on Monday and seemed probable to be available off the bench for the Dodgers in their series-opener against the New York Mets.

Assuming he continues to feel good, Betts should also return to the starting lineup on Tuesday, manager Dave Roberts said.

“That’s all contingent on if he recovers well tonight,” Roberts said.

Based on Betts’ activity level Monday, he certainly appeared to be ready to return. As one of the first Dodgers players on the field before the game, he spent several minutes running the bases, then went through a full session of infield grounders at shortstop. Betts also took batting practice, a day after Roberts said his swing in the batting cage “wasn’t compromised at all” by the freak injury.

“For me, I just want to make sure I move to make plays for those guys,” Betts said Sunday. “Hitting, hopefully that comes along. I just want to make sure I can play defense.”

As for the less encouraging update: A week after throwing his first bullpen session since going on the injured list in April with shoulder inflammation, Tyler Glasnow has been feeling general body discomfort, Roberts said.

Dodgers pitcher Tyler Glasnow delivers against the Phillies on April 6, 2025 in Philadelphia.

(Derik Hamilton / Associated Press)

Glasnow has continued to play catch, including on Monday afternoon in the outfield of Dodger Stadium. But Roberts said he is “not sure when he’s gonna get back on a mound.”

“There was one ‘pen, and then [his] body didn’t respond,” Roberts said. “So we’re trying to figure out when we can ramp him back up.”

Given Glasnow’s extensive injury history, such a setback qualifies as only mildly surprising. The 31-year-old has never made more than 22 starts or pitched over 134 innings in a major league season. And while he set both of those high-marks in his first season with the Dodgers last year — arriving in Los Angeles via a trade from Tampa Bay two winters ago and an ensuing five-year, $136.5-million extension — he never returned from an elbow tendonitis injury he suffered in August, despite repeated attempts to comeback in time for the playoffs.

“I know he’s just as frustrated as we all are [that] the process since we’ve had him, it just hasn’t been linear, as far as getting him back,” Roberts said. “He’s champing at the bit, so that’s a good thing. He’s very anxious to get back out here and help his team.”

Of the Dodgers’ injured quartet of star pitchers — which also includes Blake Snell, Roki Sasaki and Shohei Ohtani — Glasnow was initially expected to return first.

Now, however, he and Snell might be on more similar timelines. Snell made notable progress in his throwing progression this week and could begin throwing bullpens early next week.

“He’s in a really good spot physically and mentally,” Roberts said of Snell.

Sasaki has also been throwing lately, though Roberts noted it has been low-intensity. Ohtani, meanwhile, threw his second live batting practice over the weekend, and remains on track to return sometime after the All-Star break.

In the bullpen, the Dodgers should get a couple of reinforcements in the coming days.

Hard-throwing right-hander Michael Kopech (out since the start of the season with a shoulder injury) will be in Los Angeles this week after completing a minor-league rehab assignment, though exactly when he will be activated remains to be seen. Kopech yielded 11 runs and 11 walks in 6 ⅓ innings with triple-A Oklahoma City, and Roberts said the club wants to “evaluate, see how he is” up close before having him make his MLB season debut.

Another veteran right-hander, Kirby Yates, threw his second bullpen session on Monday since suffering a hamstring strain last month. He will next throw a live batting practice on Wednesday, and could be activated as soon as next weekend.

They don’t know what their rotation will look like in October, and they don’t know how worn down their bullpen will look like.

What the Dodgers know is this: They have Shohei Ohtani.

Ohtani will give them a chance in October regardless of what their roster looks like, just as he did on Friday night in an 8-5 victory over the New York Yankees.

How can a player who takes four or five at-bats on most nights have such an oversized influence on games? How can a player who bats once only two or three innings bring opponents to their knees? How can a three-time MVP be a better offensive player than he was in his historic 50-homer, 50-steal season last year?

“I have no words for it,” outfielder Michael Conforto said.

When Aaron Judge homered in the top of the first, Ohtani answered with a homer of his own in the bottom half of the inning.

When the Dodgers were down by three runs, Ohtani led off the sixth inning with another homer, this one making Yankees starter Max Fried strike the Kershaw Pose, back to the plate, hands on knees, head down. The blast one ignited a four-run surge by the Dodgers that produced their first lead of the night.

This was on a night in which Mookie Betts was sidelined with a broken toe, Evan Phillips was ruled out for the remainder of the season because of an upcoming elbow reconstruction, and the Dodgers had no choice but to start the unreliable Tony Gonsolin because three pitchers of their opening-day rotation were on the injured list.

Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani, left, watches his solo home run leave Dodger Stadium as New York Yankees starting pitcher Max Fried, center, reacts and catcher Austin Wells watches during the sixth inning Friday.

(Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)

Playing with a diminished roster, manager Dave Roberts did what he could before the game to downplay the significance of the World Series rematch against the Yankees, but Ohtani recognized the contest for what it was.

This was a statement game, and Ohtani made a statement.

“We try to win each and every game, of course, but I think it’s a special atmosphere [against the Yankees,]” Ohtani said in Japanese. “I think it was huge to have taken the [first game] of the series.”

The homers were Ohtani’s 14th and 15th of May, which tied a single-month franchise record previously shared by only Pedro Guerrero and Duke Snider. The homers were Ohtani’s 21st and 22nd of the season, meaning Ohtani is on pace for a career-high 63 bombs.

The value of Ohtani’s homers extend beyond the numbers, however.

They inspire awe.

“You don’t want to miss any of his at-bats,” Conforto said. “You want to be in the dugout. You want to see it in person. That’s kind of what it is being his teammate. You want to be there.”

They inspire confidence.

“Every time he comes up to the plate, we’re expecting something awesome to happen,” Gonsolin said. “And he doesn’t let us down a lot of the time. Really cool to have someone like that on our team.”

They inspire a contagious form of courage.

“He would probably say it’s like any other game, but I do think when you see the reigning MVP [Judge] on the other side going out there and performing, that brings out even more of a competitor in Shohei,” Roberts said.

They inspire victories — the Dodgers are 14-6 when Ohtani homers.

“We always seem to play really well when Shohei’s playing well,” first baseman Freddie Freeman said. “I heard the chants for MVP and he’s really well on his way to doing that again.”

This is what the Dodgers will need in October, especially in a season in which little has gone according to plan. At this point, they can’t count on Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow to both be healthy for the remainder of the year. They can’t expect their bullpen to be as spectacular as it was last year. But they can rely on Ohtani to make up for their shortcomings.

He will soon be able to affect the game from the mound, as the Dodgers expect him to return to pitching after the All-Star break. Rather than revel in the victory Friday night, Ohtani said in an on-field postgame interview with Apple TV that he was already looking ahead to his next day’s assignment.

“Live bullpen is scheduled for tomorrow,” Ohtani said. “The game is over now and I’d like to get my body in order for the live BP.”

CLEVELAND — The Dodgers got five good innings out of Clayton Kershaw on Wednesday. Then they let it go to waste in a five-run eighth inning.

Despite leading most of the day at Progressive Field, seeking to end their East Coast road trip with a three-game sweep against the Cleveland Guardians, the Dodgers instead lost 7-4 after an eighth-inning meltdown.

It was three ground ball singles, one walk to load the bases and one mighty Angel Martínez swing that changed the game.

Leading 4-2 entering the eighth, Dodgers left-hander Tanner Scott took the mound for his second inning of work, manager Dave Roberts asking for an up-and-down outing out of his recently up-and-down closer.

Scott’s appearance had started well, striking out Gavirel Arias to escape a jam in the seventh inning.

But, in what was charged as already his fifth blown save of the season, he failed to limit damage as a threat began to brew.

Jhonkensy Noel led off the frame with a ground ball up the middle, after second baseman Kiké Hernández got to it in the hole but had no chance to make a throw. Will Wilson followed that with a spinning ball up the third base line, its awkward hop off the edge of the infield grass tripping up Max Muncy for another infield single.

Scott only hurt his own cause from there, walking Daniel Schneemann in a left-on-left matchup to load the bases.

And though he fanned Austin Hedges for the first out of the inning, Nolan Jones hit a one-out bouncer that found a hole through the left side of a shifted infield. Two runs came around to score. A lead the Dodgers had held since the fourth inning had suddenly evaporated.

The final blow came in the next at-bat, when left-hander Alex Vesia entered the game and quickly fell behind 2-and-0 to Martínez. Vesia tried to get back in the count with a fastball up in the zone. Martínez instead delivered a knockout blow, belting a three-run homer to left to complete the Guardians’ five-run rally.

The ending meant that Kershaw, who gave up just one run in five innings despite generating only three strikeouts, was left with a no-decision — and that the Dodgers had to settle for only a 3-3 record on this New York-Cleveland road trip, stumbling to another frustrating loss during a stretch of the season that has recently been full of them.

NEW YORK — It had been more than two weeks since Juan Soto, the only man in baseball with a richer contract than Shohei Ohtani, had recorded an extra-base hit for the New York Mets.

In the bottom of the fourth inning Saturday night at Citi Field, however, Dodgers pitcher Tony Gonsolin provided him the perfect opportunity to get back on track.

After a solid opening three innings for Gonsolin, who was making an all-important start for the Dodgers a night after their 13-inning marathon victory in the series opener, the right-hander had made a mess for himself in the fourth.

With two outs, he issued back-to-back four-pitch walks to load the bases. The Dodgers’ early one-run lead then disappeared when Starling Marte reached on a half-swing infield single.

That brought up Soto, who had underperformed through much of his first two months in Queens after signing a $765-million mega-contract with the Mets. Gonsolin got ahead 1-and-2 in the count, before narrowly missing with a slider. He tried to come back with his trademark splitter. But Soto was all over it, crushing a two-run double that proved to be the decisive blow in New York’s 5-2 victory over the Dodgers.

“At the outset, I was pretty optimistic, getting a 2-0 lead,” manager Dave Roberts said. “And then there was that [fourth inning] where he sort of lost command, had two outs and the back-to-back walks. … And obviously the big hit from Soto with two outs. He just couldn’t kind of limit damage right there.”

In what likely will be a preview of what’s to come for the Dodgers (32-20) over a grueling portion of their schedule in the next month, the team’s fate Saturday was almost entirely reliant upon the performance of their starter.

On Friday night, their already overworked bullpen had been gassed again by their extra-inning gantlet. And though they won that game, and freshened up their pitching staff by calling up Bobby Miller on Saturday for some extra length, Roberts had his hands tied as Gonsolin started to lose command.

Juan Soto runs to first base after hitting a two-run double in the fourth inning Saturday against the Dodgers.

(Frank Franklin II / Associated Press)

Over his first three innings against the Mets (31-21), Gonsolin had been fine, giving up one run in a two-out rally in the second by skirting more danger in the third by dialing up an inning-ending double-play with runners on the corners.

The fourth was a different story.

Luis Torrens led with a single. Tyrone Taylor clobbered a fly ball that seemed like a no-doubter off the bat before dying in a stiff breeze at the left-field warning track. Then, Gonsolin became erratic, throwing eight consecutive balls to Brett Baty and Francisco Lindor to load the bases for the heart of the Mets’ order.

“Very upset with the walks,” Gonsolin said. “Don’t walk those guys, potentially that inning looks a lot different. Just need to attack guys.”

Maybe on a night the Dodgers’ bullpen was fresh, Roberts could have considered summoning a lefty to face Soto once Gonsolin began floundering. But after using seven of his eight relievers the previous night, he had no choice but to leave Gonsolin in as the four-time All-Star and five-time Silver Slugger came to the plate.

Five pitches later, Soto changed the game — sending Citi Field into euphoria with his go-ahead double that banged high off the wall in right center, the inning only ending when Marte was thrown out at home trying to score from first as the trail runner.

“Thought I executed a slider really well there,” Gonsolin said of a two-strike offering that Soto didn’t bite on. “He’s got a really good eye. Barely missed.

“Then yeah, the splitter, thought it was a solid one, just elevated it. And he didn’t miss it.”

Gonsolin did return to the mound and completed the fifth, saving at least one inning that otherwise would have fallen upon the Dodgers’ bullpen. Miller also contributed two innings at the end, giving up one run in the eighth and getting out of a bases-loaded jam.

But on the other side, Mets starter David Peterson had no trouble going deep, using sharp command with his sinker, seven strikeouts and three double plays to get through 7 ⅔ innings of two-run ball.

“There wasn’t much offensive energy tonight, as far as how we were swinging, the at-bats we were taking,” Roberts said. “So to try to chase and use leverage guys in a down game, it just didn’t make any sense for me.”

So goes things for the Dodgers right now; ever mindful of their MLB-leading bullpen workload, and needing better production from their starters than what Gonsolin provided.

NEW YORK — It had been 641 days since Shohei Ohtani last threw a pitch to a live hitter from a big-league mound.

At 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, inside an empty Citi Field on a cool afternoon in Queens, he did so again — this time, for the first time, in a Dodger blue uniform.

Nineteen months removed from a second career Tommy John procedure that has limited the two-way star to hitting-only duties during his first season and a half with the Dodgers, Ohtani threw a live batting practice session on Sunday in what was the biggest step in his pitching progression yet.

In five at-bats against Hyeseong Kim, Dalton Rushing and game-planning coach JT Watkins, Ohtani threw 22 pitches. He was 94-97 mph with his fastball, and used his full repertoire, including his sweeper. He had two strikeouts and one walk. He fielded a comebacker from Kim in his first at-bat. He gave up a line drive to right then next time Kim came to the plate.

But most of all, he seemed overjoyed to be throwing in a simulated environment again, joking with coaches and laughing with teammates throughout the first of several live sessions that precede his expected return to the rotation sometime after the July All-Star break.

“He’s looking forward to pitching,” pitching coach Mark Prior said. “And I think today was great because he was able to keep the mood light, but be able to maintain real stuff. I think that’s always important. He didn’t look like he was having stress or [was] under stress to amp up, try to generate any of his power. He was loose and it was all free and easy. So that’s always a positive.”

Sunday had been a long time coming for Ohtani, the three-time MVP with a career 3.01 ERA in 86 career big-league starts.

Last year, at the outset of his pitching rehab, Ohtani progressed from simple catch play to regular bullpens by the end of the regular season. He wasn’t far off from being able to face hitters by the time the playoffs started, but the Dodgers decided to dial back his pitching progression so he could focus on his first career MLB postseason.

An offseason surgery on Ohtani’s non-throwing left shoulder further delayed his pitching plan entering spring camp this year, limiting him only to a handful of bullpens before the club departed for its season-opening trip to Japan.

Ohtani resumed bi-weekly bullpens once the regular season started — lighter sessions on Wednesdays followed by more intensive ones on the weekends — and had been increasing the number of pitches in his bullpens over recent weeks.

This past week, he also began reincorporating his sweeper for the first time since getting hurt, one of the last boxes he had to check before Sunday’s live BP.

While the Dodgers have been wary of laying out the specific checkpoints that remain before Ohtani can join the team’s rotation, manager Dave Roberts said it’s unlikely he pitches any big-league games until after the All-Star break.

“I just think that you’re talking about end of May, he’s doing his first simulated game,” Roberts said Saturday night. “And in theory, you got to build a starter up to five, six innings. And so just the natural progression, I just don’t see it being before that.”

Still, Sunday was the most tangible sign yet of Ohtani’s nearing return to pitching.

“He has taken a very methodical approach to this. We’ve tried to take a very methodical approach to this, understanding the uniqueness of the situation,” Prior said. “I will never, and I don’t think anybody in that room would ever, doubt what he can do. But, you know, still got a long way to go. We’ll see where it comes out at the end of this year.”

NEW YORK — The upcoming month was already going to be tough for the Dodgers.

A rainy Friday night in Queens made it that much tougher.

In the fourth game of a 29-game stretch against playoff-contending teams, the Dodgers beat the New York Mets in a marathon contest at Citi Field, overcoming a three-run ninth-inning blown save from closer Tanner Scott by prevailing 7-5 in the 13th inning.

But, their already shorthanded pitching staff endured more unexpected obstacles in the process. A one-hour, 38-minute rain delay in the top of the third limited starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw to just two innings. A seemingly never-ending game forced their overworked bullpen to combine for 11 more innings in which every reliever was used except one.

Navigating this difficult portion of the schedule — which began in earnest with a three-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks this week — will be a test for a Dodgers pitching staff missing three of its five opening-day rotation members and many other important arms in the bullpen.

Because of that, manager Dave Roberts has emphasized in recent days the need to push his starters to take down as many innings as possible.

On Friday, Kershaw seemed to be on his way to a decent start, pitching two scoreless innings in which his only baserunner reached via a walk that was quickly erased by a double play.

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw delivers in the second inning Friday against the Mets.

(Pamela Smith / Associated Press)

But then, with the Dodgers mounting a rally in the top of the third, the New York skies opened up for a late May downpour. For the next 98 minutes, fans scattered for shelter and watched the Knicks’ playoff game on the stadium scoreboard. Back in the visiting clubhouse, Roberts watched the clock tick and tick and tick, eventually to the point where keeping Kershaw in was no longer a viable option.

By the end of the night, that was the least of the Dodgers’ problems.

Despite holding a 5-2 lead after getting three innings of two-run ball from Matt Sauer, and three scoreless innings from Ben Casparius, Scott couldn’t get the game across the finish line.

Starling Marte led with a single. Pete Alonso drew a one-out walk. Jeff McNeil got them both home on a triple hit just high enough to evade a leaping Freddie Freeman at first base. Tyrone Taylor then completed Scott’s fourth blown save in 14 opportunities with an RBI single to left.

Somehow, the Dodgers (32-19) still managed to prevail.

Alex Vesia got the game to extras, stranding two runners aboard to end the ninth. Both teams then traded wasted opportunities from there, failing to score their automatic runners in the 10th (when the Dodgers had the bases loaded with no outs), the 11th (when Anthony Banda and Luis García combined to escape a bases-loaded threat) and the 12th (when the Dodgers turned an inning-ending double play while employing a five-man infield).

Finally, Teoscar Hernández put the Dodgers back in front in the 13th, hitting a leadoff RBI double before scoring on Andy Pages’ sacrifice fly.

García closed it out in the bottom half of the inning, completing a 2 ⅓ scoreless inning appearance just minutes shy of 1 a.m. local time.

It was a hard-fought win, but one that could come with future consequences for a pitching staff that was already running on fumes.

Grounds crew members cover the field during a rain delay at Citi Field on Friday night.

(Pamela Smith / Associated Press)

Even as their pitching injuries have mounted in recent weeks, the Dodgers haven’t panicked.

On multiple occasions, team officials have noted how none of the seven pitchers who have gotten hurt since the end of spring camp suffered relatively serious injuries. In time, they promised, the staff would get back close to full health.

On Tuesday, signs of that optimism finally began to appear.

Tyler Glasnow and Blake Snell (both out with shoulder inflammation) continued their throwing progressions, with Glasnow making some light pitches off a mound slope for the first time since going on the injured list last month, according to manager Dave Roberts.

Kirby Yates (hamstring strain) began playing catch just days after hitting the IL, raising his hopes of being back within the two-to-four week time frame the team has targeted. Blake Treinen (forearm sprain) also continued his catch play, while Michael Kopech (shoulder impingement) was set to make a rehab outing with triple-A Oklahoma City.

Most of all, though, Shohei Ohtani checked off another important box in his return from a 2023 Tommy John surgery, taking another step closer to resuming two-way duties for the first time as a Dodger.

In a flat-ground throwing session Tuesday afternoon, Ohtani mixed in some breaking pitches for the first time in his throwing program this year, Roberts said, a notable development after the right-hander had been limited to fastball and splitters previously in pitching activities.

Already in recent weeks, Ohtani had been ramping up his pitching work in other ways. He had steadily increased the number of throws in his weekly bullpen sessions, getting up to 50 last Saturday. He has been doing up-downs in his bullpens, too, to simulate the downtime he will experience between innings when he returns to a big-league mound.

Roberts confirmed it is all a sign that Ohtani is finally getting closer to facing live hitting again for the first time since he underwent his second Tommy John procedure two offseasons ago.

Roberts said he was still unsure exactly when that might happen, but indicated that Ohtani and Snell are on similar timelines to return — with Glasnow a tick ahead of each of them.

“It is progressing,” Roberts said of Ohtani’s pitching rehab, which had been in more of a static stage with weekly 20-pitch bullpen sessions earlier this year. “I’m not sure when [he’s] going to take that slider from the flat ground to the bullpen, but that is progress. Yes.”

Right now, the Dodgers could use all the pitching help they can get.

Over their last 11 games, the team’s shorthanded pitching staff has struggled mightily, posting a 6.31 ERA over a 4-7 stretch that included a four-game losing streak entering Tuesday.

Among the opening day rotation, only Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Dustin May have stayed healthy through the first two months. And outside of Yamamoto — an early-season Cy Young candidate who was needed to be a stopper Tuesday night against the Arizona Diamondbacks — no Dodgers pitcher with more than three starts has a sub-4.00 ERA to this point of the campaign.

The rotation’s struggles have bled into the bullpen, where Dodgers relievers have combined for an MLB-high 207 2/3 innings this season, 19 more than any other team. Closer Tanner Scott has been solid, with a 1.74 ERA and nine saves in 11 opportunities. But many of the Dodgers’ other top relief arms have gotten hurt, including virtually all of their most trusted right-handers.

“It’s not the staff we thought we’d have this season,” Roberts acknowledged Monday night.

Before long, however, the Dodgers are hopeful it will be again.

In addition to Ohtani, Snell and Glasnow, the Dodgers will also eventually get Roki Sasaki (shoulder impingement) and Emmet Sheehan (Tommy John recovery) back as rotation options. Sasaki is expected to begin throwing again during the team’s upcoming trip. Sheehan has been throwing live sessions against hitters for the last several weeks as he works back from last year’s elbow procedure.

Brusdar Graterol (offseason shoulder surgery) is also scheduled to return during the second half of the season.

About the only injured pitcher who hasn’t made recent progress is Evan Phillips, whose original 15-day diagnosis now looks likely to stretch far longer than that.

Still, no one’s return has been more eagerly anticipated than Ohtani’s. After almost a year and a half of waiting, the Dodgers are hopeful his return, which has been expected to come around the All-Star break, is finally on the horizon.

His next step will be facing live hitting. And given his recent workload increases, it’s possible it could come soon.

“I really wish I had an answer [on when it will be],” Roberts said. “I’m just waiting for the green light from people that are sort of managing the Shohei rehab, day to day.”