eighth inning

TORONTO — There might be no greater reminder of how far the Dodgers have come than the opposing pitcher on Monday. When the World Series returns to Dodger Stadium for Game 3, the starting pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays is scheduled to be Max Scherzer.

You may remember his brief tenure with the Dodgers four years ago, which ended with an elimination game in which Scherzer said he could not pitch. The Dodgers lost, the last domino in a cascade triggered by a front office that miscast its humans as widgets in a search for even the tiniest of edges.

Don’t just take my word for it. This was the word from Hall of Fame pitcher Pedro Martinez at the time: “Dodgers analytics dept really misused probably the best rotation in all of baseball. …They need to figure out a way to let starters be who they really are and let them pitch how they are used to.”

In the 2021 postseason, by choice, the Dodgers used an opener three times, a 20-game winner as a middle reliever, and a Hall of Fame starter as a closer. There would be no parade.

In the 2024 postseason, and not by choice, the Dodgers ran four bullpen games. There would be a parade.

In 2025, the Dodgers are simply throwing out a top-flight starting pitcher in every game. Presumably, there is nothing for the front office to overthink here.

Just sit back and enjoy the show — on Saturday, Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s second straight complete game show. This must be less stressful, at least.

“I don’t think it’s less stressful,” Dodgers pitching coach Mark Prior said to an inquiring middle-aged reporter with gray hair getting a little too noticeable. “We’ve got matching hair.”

Still, there isn’t much mystery in the Dodgers’ 10-2 postseason record. In every game in which their starting pitcher has gotten an out in the sixth inning, they have won. In every game in which their starting pitcher has not gotten an out in the sixth inning, they have lost.

To the rotation of Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow and Shohei Ohtani, take a bow.

To Andrew Friedman and his front office, take a bow too. Just because your ownership provided you with a $1.35-billion rotation does not guarantee that you will leave well enough alone.

In the final month of the season, remember, the Dodgers entertained a flurry of ideas about how to best combine a talented rotation and an iffy bullpen into an effective October staff.

Would they deploy Ohtani in relief? Would they use their best arms as often as possible, as the Washington Nationals did in 2019, when they used their top three starters — Scherzer, Patrick Corbin and Stephen Strasburg — as starters and relievers?

The Dodgers let their starters be starters. The conventional wisdom does not always need to be challenged.

“Clearly, Blake Snell, Yama, Glasnow, Shohei, all really good pitchers,” Prior said. “I think we can all agree that they’re all really good pitchers, and any team would probably roll them out in a playoff game.

“So I don’t think this is any master plan.”

Said catcher Will Smith: “I think that’s just this team. We have four starters now that are pitching their best. … We’re just riding those guys.”

Dodgers pitcher Tyler Glasnow is set to start Game 3 of the World Series against the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday.

(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times )

That brings us back to 2021, when the front office decided the best way to approach the winner-take-all finale of the division series against the San Francisco Giants was to use reliever Corey Knebel as an opener, 20-game winner Julio Urías from the third through the sixth innings, closer Kenley Jansen in the eighth inning and Scherzer as the closer.

That is the kind of all-hands-on-deck approach better suited to the end of a World Series. The Dodgers won that game against the Giants, but Scherzer could not complete five innings in his first championship series start and said he could not take the ball for his next start, an elimination game.

“My arm’s been locked up the past couple of days,” Scherzer said then.

He said that he would be the one at risk if he were not honest with the Dodgers about his condition, rather than trying to push through.

“Guys, when they lie, they go out there and they take on too much, then they blow out,’’ he said. “That’s the ultimate risk here.”

That line of thought did not go over too well in some corners of the clubhouse. Urías was miffed because he believed the Dodgers did not believe in him. Walker Buehler, who started on short rest as a late replacement for Scherzer, gave up four runs in four innings. The Dodgers were eliminated.

Scherzer’s last World Series start, for the Texas Rangers in 2023, lasted three innings. He isn’t thinking about the Rangers, or for that matter the Dodgers.

“I wouldn’t be looking backwards at all for any motivation,’’ he said here Saturday. “I have plenty of motivation. I’m here to win and I’ve got a clubhouse full of guys who want to win too. So we’re a great team and that’s the only thing I need to think about.”

The only thing the Dodgers need to worry about on Monday, at least based on their postseason run: Can they get six or seven innings from Glasnow? If they can, they should be halfway to the World Series championship.

Highlights from the Dodgers’ 5-1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 2 of the World Series.

The Dodgers aren’t ready to call Roki Sasaki their closer, but who are they kidding?

Sasaki is their closer.

When the 23-year-old rookie from the Japanese countryside stepped onto the October stage on Wednesday night, he revealed himself to be more than the team’s best late-inning option.

He showed he was special.

He was Reggie-Bush-exploding-through-the-Fresno-State-defense special.

He was Allen-Iverson-crossing-up-Michael-Jordan special.

He was Yasiel-Puig-doubling-off-a-runner-for-the-final-out-in-his-debut special.

“Wow,” third baseman Max Muncy said. “Really, all you can say is wow.”

Watching Sasaki pitch the final inning of a two-game sweep of the Cincinnati Reds in their National League wild-card series, the patrons at Dodger Stadium at once recognized the novelty of his act. The same crowd that can’t distinguish home runs from fly balls was chanting his first name throughout the ballpark after just two pitches.

Sasaki threw seven fastballs in the perfect inning, and six of them were faster than 100 mph. The other was clocked at 99.8 mph.

With a forkball that looked as if it were dropping perpendicular to the ground, he struck out the first two batters he faced. Spencer Steer and Gavin Lux had no chance.

“That guy is gross,” reliever Tanner Scott said.

The 11-pitch performance by Sasaki was why the 8-4 victory in Game 2 felt so different from the 10-5 win in Game 1. In both games, the bullpen created messes in the eighth inning. Game 1 left the Dodgers questioning how they could defend their World Series title with such an unreliable group of relievers. Game 2 offered them a vision of how they could realize their ambition.

“That’s what we need right there,” Muncy said.

Sasaki was the last card in the deck for the Dodgers, who gave up on Scott before the playoffs even started. They experimented with some less experienced arms, but none of them performed well. Edgardo Henriquez and Jack Dreyer were part of a dispiriting three-run eighth inning against the Reds in Game 1. Converted starter Emmet Sheehan was part of another eighth-inning meltdown in Game 2, as he retired just one of the five batters he faced, and that was on a sacrifice fly that drove in a run. Sheehan was charged with two runs.

By the time Sasaki started warming up in the bottom of the eighth inning, he might as well have already inherited the closer role by default. The other candidates had pitched their way out of consideration.

Never mind that Sasaki had never pitched in relief in either the United States or Japan until he did so on a recent minor-league rehabilitation assignment. Sasaki pitched out of the bullpen twice in the major leagues in the final days of the regular season, and he was about as promising a bullpen possibility as they had.

So when Sasaki emerged from the bullpen against the Reds, fans in every section of Dodger Stadium stood to applaud. Sasaki represented their final hope.

Once on the mound, Sasaki delivered a performance that was as aesthetically pleasing as it was effective.

The high leg kick. The athletic delivery. The velocity and precision of his fastball.

Words couldn’t accurately describe what he did, so his teammates didn’t bother trying.

“You guys saw the same thing I did,” catcher Ben Rortvedt said.

Dodgers management was reluctant to say anything definitive about Sasaki’s role moving forward.

Was Sasaki the new closer?

“He’s going to get important outs for us,” president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman replied.

Asked the same question, manager Dave Roberts offered an equally ambiguous answer.

“I trust him,” Roberts said, “and he’s going to pitch in leverage.”

As guarded as Friedman and Roberts were, they couldn’t conceal the truth. Something fundamentally changed for the Dodgers on Wednesday night: They found their ninth-inning pitcher.

Sasaki is their closer.

Imagine if the Dodgers hadn’t scored a gazillion runs.

Shudder.

Imagine how the majority of spectators would have tensed up when manager Dave Roberts trudged to the mound to remove Alex Vesia if the game was actually close.

Hoo boy.

Imagine the devastation the Dodgers would have experienced if Jack Dreyer’s bases-loaded walk legitimately endangered their chances of winning.

Barf.

The postseason started for the Dodgers on Tuesday night, and their pumpkin of a bullpen didn’t magically transform into an elegant carriage in a 10-5 victory over the Cincinnati Reds in Game 1 of their National League wild-card series.

On a night when the hitters crushed five home runs and starter Blake Snell completed seven innings, the relievers continued to be as terrible as they were over the last three months of the regular season.

The Dodgers technically moved a win closer to defending their World Series title, but that ultimate goal suddenly looked further out of reach because of a shocking 30-minute top of the eighth inning during which three of their arsonist relievers nearly created a save situation out of an eight-run game.

Can a team possibly win a World Series with such an unreliable bullpen?

Dodgers reliever Alex Vesia reacts during the eighth inning of a 10-5 win over the Cincinnati Reds in Game 1 of a National League wild-card series on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Before the game, president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said he thought so.

“It’s not a talent issue,” Friedman said, but who knows if this was an honest assessment or a disingenuous effort to convince his audience that he hadn’t wasted tens of millions of dollars on a bunch of no-chancers.

Friedman continued, “We’ve seen it time and time again with guys who have scuffled and all of a sudden found it and they roll off a heater.”

That’s not what happened in Game 1.

If anything, the troublesome eighth inning eliminated certain relievers from consideration to pitch in in the highest-leverage of situations.

Suspicions about rookie fireballer Edgardo Henriquez were confirmed, as Henriquez walked a batter to load the bases, walked in a run and gave up a run-scoring single.

The wishful thinking that Dreyer could be a late-inning option was dented, as Dreyer entered the game and walked in another run.

Most disconcerting was the performance of Vesia, the team’s most trusted reliever.

Vesia started the inning, with the Dodgers leading 10-2. The use of Vesia in such a lopsided game spoke to how little Roberts wanted to use any of his other relievers in a game of this magnitude, but the fiery left-hander looked like a rubber band that had been stretched out too many times. Vesia, who pitched a career-high 68 games in the regular season, retired only one batter. He gave up a hit and a walk.

So what now?

Roberts sounded as if the only relievers he trusted were his starters. He said Tyler Glasnow and Emmet Sheehan would be in the bullpen for Game 2.

Glasnow was last used as a reliever in 2018. He’s never pitched out of the bullpen in the postseason.

Sheehan has pitched in relief in only five of 28 career games. He has only one career save, and that was in a four-inning appearance in a blowout.

The Dodgers have contemplated deploying Shohei Ohtani out of the bullpen. They could also have other starting pitchers such as Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Snell pitch in relief instead of throwing scheduled bullpen sessions between starts.

The team’s highest-ceiling late-inning option could be Roki Sasaki, who struck out two batters in each of the two one-inning appearances he made in the final week of the regular season.

But outside of Ohtani, who closed out the championship game of the most recent World Baseball Classic, can any of these starters really be counted on to perform in unfamiliar roles?

Will Yamamoto and Snell really be unaffected in their starts if they also pitch in relief?

It’s unclear.

But what is clear is the Dodgers can’t wait around for the likes of Tanner Scott or Blake Treinen or anyone who pitched in the eighth inning on Tuesday to magically round into form as Friedman envisions. They have to try something new.

There’s desperate, and there’s desperate to where you’re looking for Roki Sasaki to be the answer to your team’s late-inning problems.

The same Roki Sasaki who hasn’t pitched in a major league game in more than four months because of shoulder problems.

The same Roki Sasaki who posted a 4.72 earned-run average in eight starts.

The same Roki Sasaki who last week in the minors pitched as a reliever for the first time.

The Dodgers’ exploration of Sasaki as a late-inning option is a reflection of the 23-year-old rookie’s upside, but this isn’t a commentary of Sasaki as much as it is of the roster.

The team’s bullpen problems have persisted into the final week of the regular season, and the potential solutions sound like miracles, starting with Sasaki’s audition for a postseason role as a reliever.

Sasaki pitched twice in relief for triple-A Oklahoma City, touching 100 mph in a scoreless inning on Thursday and retiring the side on Sunday.

Manager Dave Roberts said Sasaki would rejoin the Dodgers for their upcoming road series against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The earliest Sasaki would be available to pitch would be on Wednesday.

With only six games remaining in the regular season, Sasaki figures to pitch no more than twice for the Dodgers before the playoffs. That being the case, do the Dodgers plan to use him in high-leverage situations to learn how he performs in late-inning situations?

“We’re still trying to win games, and this would be his third outing in the ‘pen, first in the big leagues, so not sure,” Roberts said.

Then again, what’s the alternative? Continue to run out Blake Treinen?

The most dependable reliever on the Dodgers’ World Series run last season, the 37-year-old Treinen was re-signed to a two-year, $22-million contract over the winter. He missed more than three months of this season with a forearm strain and hasn’t rediscovered the form that made him a postseason hero. Treinen is 1-7 with a 5.55 earned-run average for the season and has taken a loss in five of his last seven games.

Treinen cost the Dodgers another game on Sunday when he inherited a 1-0 lead, only to give up three runs in the eighth inning of an eventual 3-1 defeat.

Roberts was booed when he emerged from the dugout to remove Treinen, but whom did the fans want the manager to call on to pitch that inning instead?

Tanner Scott?

Kirby Yates?

Alex Vesia is the most trustworthy bullpen arm, but if he pitched the eighth inning, who would have pitched the ninth?

Dodgers pitcher Blake Treinen, right, reacts after giving up a bases-loaded walk in a 3-1 loss to the San Francisco Giants on Sunday.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Roberts acknowledged he was basically reduced to holding out hope that when the postseason starts Treinen would magically revert to being the pitcher he was last year.

Wouldn’t it be unsettling to have to count on Treinen without seeing him pitch better in the regular season?

“Certainly, I’d like to see some more consistent performance,” Roberts said. “But at the end of the day, there’s going to be certain guys that I feel that we’re going to go to in leverage [situations] and certain guys we’re not going to.”

Evidently, Treinen is still viewed as a leverage-situation pitcher.

Roberts said: “My trust in him is unwavering.”

There aren’t many other choices.

Maybe Will Klein, who was called up from the minors for the third time last week. Klein struck out the side on Saturday and gave up a leadoff double in a scoreless inning on Sunday.

Maybe Brock Stewart, who has been sidelined with shoulder problems for the majority of the time since he was acquired at the trade deadline. Stewart will rejoin the Dodgers in Arizona.

Or maybe Emmet Sheehan or Clayton Kershaw, who are expected to be pushed out of the postseason rotation by Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Shohei Ohtani and Tyler Glasnow. Sheehan started on Sunday and pitched seven scoreless innings.

The playoff picture is unlikely to change for the Dodgers between now and the end of the regular season, as they are four games behind the Philadelphia Phillies for the No. 2 seed in the National League and three games ahead of the second-place San Diego Padres in the NL West. Nonetheless, Roberts said he was unsure of how high-leverage innings over the next week would be allocated, which spoke to the degree of uncertainty about the bullpen. Should these innings be used to straighten out previously-successful relievers such as Treinen and Scott? Or to experiment with unknown commodities such as Sasaki and Klein?

Just a couple of weeks ago, the door for Sasaki pitching in the playoffs was locked and bolted. The Dodgers have been rocked by the dreadful performance of their bullpen, so much so that a door that was once slammed shut is now wide open.

Zach Neto hit a two-run homer, Mike Trout drove in two runs and the Angels beat the Minnesota Twins 4-3 on Wednesday.

Trout’s sacrifice fly in the eighth inning brought home Bryce Teodosio to give the Angels a 4-3 lead. Teodosio tripled off the top of the center-field wall, over the head of James Outman.

Trout also hit an RBI single in the third and scored on Neto’s homer off starter Taj Bradley to put the Angels ahead 3-1. It was Neto’s 26th home run of the year.

Byron Buxton tied it with a two-run shot in the sixth, his 31st homer this season.

Outman also homered, doubled and made a pair of leaping catches for the Twins. But they fell to 64-82 and were assured their first losing record since 2022.

Robert Stephenson (2-0), the fifth Angels reliever, got one out for the win. Kenley Jansen struck out two in a perfect ninth to earn his 27th save.

Cole Sands (3-4) took the loss.

Bradley gave up three runs and four hits in 6 1/3 innings, striking out five.

Key moment

Teodosio’s leadoff triple in the eighth was hit over the head of Outman, who made leaping catches in the fifth and sixth. Outman hit a double in the top of the eighth that Teodosio could not see in center field.

Key stat

Minnesota stranded 11 baserunners and went 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position.

Up next

Angels right-hander José Soriano (10-10, 4.07) is scheduled to start Thursday night in Seattle.

Jo Adell hit his 35th homer, Travis d’Arnaud hit a tiebreaking RBI double in the eighth inning, and the Angels avoided a three-game sweep with a 4-3 victory over the Athletics on Sunday.

Angels catcher Logan O’Hoppe departed in the seventh when A’s shortstop Jacob Wilson accidentally hit the Angels catcher’s chin with his bat on the back swing of a warm-up swing.

Chris Taylor sparked the winning rally with a one-out walk off A’s reliever Osvaldo Bido (2-5) in the eighth. Oswald Peraza was hit by a pitch — the fifth Angels hit batter of the game, a franchise record.

After entering in the seventh inning for O’Hoppe, d’Arnaud drove a ground-rule double to right-center in the eighth for a 4-3 lead.

Reid Detmers (5-3) earned the win despite giving up a run in the eighth, and Kenley Jansen retired the side in order in the ninth for his 26th save.

Angels left-hander Mitch Farris gave up two runs and three hits in six innings in his second big-league start. A’s right-hander Luis Severino allowed three runs and four hits in five innings.

Key moment: With two on and one out in the seventh, A’s pinch-hitter Carlos Cortes grounded to Taylor, who flipped to Peraza to start an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play and preserve a 3-2 Angels lead.

Key stat: Adell is batting .347 with 10 homers and 22 RBIs in his last 20 games. He has hit four go-ahead homers in seven games in September. Adell left the game in the ninth inning because of nausea.

Up next: A’s right-hander Luis Morales (3-0, 1.59 ERA) will oppose Red Sox left-hander Garrett Crochet (14-5, 2.67) Monday in Sacramento. Angels right-hander Caden Dana (0-0, 4.91) will face Twins right-hander Simeon Woods Richardson (5-4, 4.53) Monday in Anaheim.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Bobby Witt Jr. hit a two-out solo home run in the eighth inning and the Kansas City Royals beat the Angels 4-3 on Thursday night to avoid a sweep in a three-game series.

The Royals hit four solo homers in a game where all seven runs came on home runs.

Lucas Erceg (7-4) struck out two in one inning and Carlos Estévez picked up his major league-best 37th save.

Angels starter Kyle Hendricks allowed two runs on three hits in six innings, while Kansas City starter Noah Cameron allowed three runs on five hits in five innings.

The Angels (66-74) got on the board in the first on a three-run homer by Luis Rengifo. With two outs, Taylor Ward singled, Jo Adell walked and Rengifo hit a slider 384 feet down the left-field line.

The Royals (71-69) answered in the second on Adam Frazier’s home run, the 1,000th hit of his MLB career. Vinnie Pasquantino connected on his 29th home run of the season leading off the fourth inning to trim the deficit to 3-2.

The Royals tied it when Salvador Perez hit his 24th home run of the season, leading off the seventh inning.

Ryan Zeferjahn (6-5) took the loss.

Key moment: After the Royals tied the score in the bottom of the seventh, Erceg retired the Angels in order in the eighth.

Key stat: With his home run, Perez reached 495 career RBIs at Kauffman Stadium, breaking a tie with Frank White for the third most RBIs in the history of the ballpark. He trails George Brett (839) and Hal McRae (534).

Up next: The Angels return to start a three-game series with the Athletics. The Angels will send RHP José Soriano (10-9, 3.68 ERA) to the mound to face RHP Mason Barnett (0-1, 11.25).

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts wanted to set the record straight: Mookie Betts is his shortstop.

“Mookie,” Roberts said, “will not go to right field.”

Roberts repeated the phrase a couple of times, as if he was determined to quash any speculation about another late-season position change for Betts.

“Mookie,” Roberts said again, “will not go to right field.”

There it is, directly from the man who hands the lineup card to the umpire every night.

So ignore the noise and stop the chatter.

Mookie Betts is the Dodgers’ shortstop.

Betts is the Dodgers’ shortstop now, Betts will be the Dodgers’ shortstop next week, and Betts will be the Dodgers’ shortstop in the postseason.

The only times Roberts said he envisioned Betts returning to right field was late in games in which the Dodgers ran out of bench players. A situation like that came up a few weeks ago in a game against the Angels. Miguel Rojas, an infielder, was deployed as a pinch hitter in the top of the eighth inning and remained in the game at shortstop. Betts defended right field for an inning.

Roberts isn’t sticking with Betts at shortstop because of their close relationship. He’s sticking with Betts at shortstop because of how Betts has played the position.

Betts entered his team’s weekend series against the Arizona Diamondbacks leading all major league shortstops in defensive runs saved (15).

He was ninth in outs above average (four).

He was also fifth in fielding percentage (.985).

“When you’re talking about shortstop play, you’re looking for consistency, and I’ve just loved the consistency,” Roberts said. “He’s made every play he’s supposed to make, and then the last couple weeks, he’s made spectacular plays. He’s been a big part of preventing runs. “

Roberts is equally, if not more, encouraged by how Betts has looked.

“Right now, it’s all instinct instead of the technical part of it, how to do this or that,” Roberts said. “I think he’s free to just be a major league shortstop. I truly, to this day, have never seen a position change like Mookie has.”

Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts throws to first base after forcing out Padres baserunner Freddy Fermin at second on Aug. 15.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

A six-time Gold Glove Award winner as a right fielder, Betts moved to shortstop late in spring training last year when it became evident the team didn’t have an everyday player at the position. The last time he spent significant time at shortstop was in high school.

By mid-June, Betts was about a league-average shortstop but further progress was derailed by a broken hand that landed him on the injured list. When Betts was activated a couple of months later, he returned as a right fielder. He remained there throughout the Dodgers’ World Series run.

However, Betts was determined to take another shot at playing shortstop. Unlike the previous year, he was able to train at this position over the offseason, working with Dodgers coaches and former All-Star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki. The preparation has made a noticeable difference.

Betts has improved to where he now feels comfortable dispensing advice on how to play the position, regularly offering pointers to rookie infielder Alex Freeland.

“It’s the smallest details,” Freeland said. “I give him so much credit because he makes the small things matter the most because a lot of those smaller details go overlooked by a lot of players where they’re like, ‘Oh, we don’t need to focus on that, something so minute, it’s not going to matter.’ But Mookie takes all the small details and makes them very important.”

Roberts expected this of Betts, whom he considers one of the team’s leaders alongside Freddie Freeman and Clayton Kershaw. He pointed to how Betts has carried himself in the worst offensive season of his career, his relentless work resulting in him batting .329 over the last three weeks.

“I love how Mookie is always accountable,” Roberts said. “There’s been times where he’s been really good and times he hasn’t but he’s never run from having the conversation or owning the fact that he’s underperforming. His work has never wavered. So for me, that’s something that when you’re talking about one of the leaders in your clubhouse, it really resonates with everyone, coaches included. I’m always going to bet on him.”

So much so that Roberts has wagered the season on him.

Mookie Betts is his shortstop — now, next week and in the postseason.

The result was historic. The way it happened was all too familiar.

Never before, since interleague play began in 1997, had the Dodgers been swept in a six-game season series against the Angels.

But plenty of times in recent weeks had they suffered the kind of fate that befell them Wednesday.

Entering the eighth inning, the team was leading by one run. Without many trustworthy options in a recently scuffling bullpen, however, manager Dave Roberts had few cards to play from his deck.

First, he sent left-hander Justin Wrobleski out for a third inning of work. When he walked the first two batters, Roberts turned to right-hander Edgardo Henriquez, who had pitched multiple innings the night before.

You can probably guess what happened next.

Despite perfectly defending a sacrifice bunt to get the lead runner at third, the Dodgers again failed to escape a late-game threat. With one out, Jo Adell hit what looked like a possible double-play grounder — only for Henriquez to deflect the ball on an ill-advised fielding attempt and send it rolling away for an infield single.

Two batters later, Logan O’Hoppe roped a go-ahead, two-out base hit into center.

Another lead had been squandered by the bullpen. Another loss — the Dodgers’ fourth straight, and 21st in their last 33 games — had been all but cemented.

With a 6-5 defeat, the Dodgers were swept for the second time this season by the Angels. They also fell out of first place in the National League West for the first time since April.

It was yet another day they could only shake their head.

Wednesday was supposed to be about Shohei Ohtani, who was making his first pitching start as a visitor at his old home ballpark at Angel Stadium.

It was also Ohtani’s first full-length outing since returning from a second career Tommy John surgery earlier this year. But even the two-way star could only conjure so much magic.

After building up inning by inning since his return to pitching, Ohtani’s leash was extended into the fifth for the first time this season — a target length the Dodgers don’t plan on having him surpass at least until the playoffs.

“He’s just such a valuable player to us offensively, as a pitcher,” Roberts said. “So to push for an extra inning, or call it five extra innings in totality, it’s just not worth it. There’s just way too much downside.”

And by the time Ohtani took the mound for the first time, he’d already helped the Dodgers take an early lead, beginning the game with a scorching line-drive triple before Mookie Betts singled him home and Will Smith went deep to make a three-run first inning.

The two-way star gave up two runs in the second, one on a Taylor Ward home run, then another after Yoán Moncada doubled and came around to score on a sacrifice fly, but the Dodgers restored their three-run advantage with a two-run rally in the fourth; one that featured three walks (including one from Ohtani and a run-scoring free pass from Smith) and an RBI single from Betts (who extended his hitting streak to eight games, five of which have been multi-hit efforts).

Ohtani’s first foray into the fifth inning didn’t go smoothly. O’Hoppe and Bryce Teodosio hit consecutive one-out singles. Zach Neto laced a two-run double into the left-field corner that kicked away from Alex Call. And with his pitch count up to a season-high of 80, Roberts went to get him before he could qualify for the win.

Reliever Anthony Banda escaped the inning without further damage. Ohtani’s final line was 4 1/3 innings, four runs, five hits and seven strikeouts (two of them against former Angels co-star Mike Trout). His season ERA is now 3.47. He has 32 strikeouts in 23⅔ innings.

And for a while, it appeared the score would remain that way — until yet another late-game collapse sent the Dodgers to another maddening setback.

DETROIT — Matt Vierling hit a three-run homer in the eighth inning and the Detroit Tigers beat the Angels 6-5 on Friday night.

With the Angels leading 5-3, reliever Reid Detmers (3-3) walked pinch-hitter Jahmai Jones and Gleyber Torres to start the inning. Vierling batted for Kerry Carpenter and hit his first homer of the season over the Detroit bullpen in left.

The Tigers avoided their third straight loss on a night when Tarik Skubal gave up back-to-back homers for the first time this season.

With one out in the fifth inning and the Tigers leading 3-1, Gustavo Campero hit a two-run homer to left. Two pitches later, the Angels (55-61) took the lead on Zach Neto’s second homer against Skubal this season.

Skubal struck out Nolan Schanuel, but Mike Trout ended Skubal’s shortest start of the season with an infield single.

Troy Melton (2-1) picked up the win with 2⅓ innings of relief. New Tigers closer Kyle Finnegan pitched the ninth for his 23rd save.

Logan O’Hoppe gave the Angels a 1-0 lead with an RBI double in the second, but Detroit (67-50) scored three times in the bottom of the inning.

Spencer Torkelson led off with his 25th homer, Riley Greene singled and took third on Zach McKinstry’s double. Javier Báez followed with a two-run bloop single to left.

Jo Adell’s 24th homer put the Angels ahead 5-3 in the eighth inning.

The game was delayed briefly in the third inning when Angels center fielder Bryce Teodosio stumbled catching a fly ball and hit his head on the fence. He stayed in the game but was replaced by Campero for the fourth inning.

Key moment: With one out and a runner on first in the seventh, Neto hit a 106.7-mph line drive to left, but Greene made a diving catch to help Melton escape the inning.

Key stat: Skubal hadn’t allowed back-to-back homers since Salvador Perez and Jorge Soler did it in the first inning of a 6-1 win for the Kansas City Royals on July 25, 2021.

Up next: The teams face each other again on Saturday evening, with Detroit RHP Charlie Morton (7-9, 5.20) making his second Tigers start against LHP Yusei Kikuchi (5-7, 3.22).

The Dodgers’ Tyler Glasnow and the Cardinals’ Sonny Gray squared off in an old-school pitchers’ duel Monday. But both were watching from the clubhouse when pinch-hitter Yohel Pozo’s two-out single in the ninth lifted the Cardinals to a 3-2 victory at Dodger Stadium.

Glasnow gave the Dodgers seven strong innings for the second time in three starts, allowing a run on three hits — none after the second inning — while striking out seven. Gray was even better in his seven innings, giving up just a fourth-inning solo home run to Freddie Freeman and a second-inning walk to Max Muncy.

Both then gave way to shaky bullpens, which is when things got interesting.

The Dodgers’ bullpen gave up more runs over a span of nine batters than Glasnow did all night. Anthony Banda went first, allowing a go-ahead homer to Iván Herrera three batters into the eighth inning. But the Cardinals’ Riley O’Brien gave the run right back in the bottom of the inning on a double to Teoscar Hernández.

Newcomer Brock Stewart started the ninth for the Dodgers, but he didn’t finish it. After Willson Contreras and Lars Nootbaar greeted him with singles to put runners at the corners, Pozo squirted a two-out single over the infield to score pinch-runner Garrett Hampson for the go-ahead run.

After Shohei Ohtani’s led off the ninth with a single, the Cardinals’ JoJo Romero finally shut the door, getting Mookie Betts to pop out and striking out Freeman. After walking Will Smith to put the tying run at second, he retired Muncy on a line drive to right to end the night.

Glasnow got off to a rough start, allowing three hits, including a solo homer by Masyn Winn, in the first two innings. But he settled in after that, allowing just one baserunner the rest of the way, though he would have nothing to show for it, finishing without a decision for the eighth time in 10 starts.

Gray, meanwhile, was dealing from the start for the Cardinals, setting down 10 of the first 11 batters he faced before Freeman tied the game with a one-out home run, his 13th of the season, in the fourth.

Freeman has hits in 12 of his last 13 games and is batting .500 over his last six games. But his home run would prove to be the only hit the Dodgers would get off Gray, who struck out eight and walked just one.

Sasaki set to throw

Right-hander Roki Sasaki is expected to throw the equivalent of three innings to hitters Friday and if that goes well, he could begin a minor-league rehab assignment next week. He has not pitched in nearly three months after going on the IL with a shoulder impingement.

Edman goes on injured list

Utilityman Hyeseong Kim, out since July 29 with a shoulder issue, is swinging a bat and taking grounders. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts is optimistic he will be able to return soon. But another utility player, Tommy Edman, went on the IL with an ankle injury. With Kim, Edman and Kiké Hernández, another utility player, all out with injuries, Roberts has not had the usual versatility he has enjoyed in fielding a lineup.

Jorge Soler hit a tiebreaking two-run homer in the eighth inning, Mike Trout went deep twice and the Angels beat the Texas Rangers 11-8 on Wednesday night at Angel Stadium.

Trout hit a two-run homer in the third and added his 16th of the season in the fifth, a solo shot that gave the Angels a 6-5 lead. His fly ball out to center in the seventh advanced two runners before Taylor Ward drove in both with a single, tying the score at 8-8.

Travis d’Arnaud hit his sixth home run for the Angels in the fourth inning.

José Fermin (2-0), the seventh of eight Angels pitchers, worked a scoreless inning and earned the victory. Kenley Jansen picked up his 16th save.

Texas’ Marcus Semien drove in four runs. He hit a two-run homer, his 10th, against Reid Detmers in the seventh for an 8-6 lead. Detmers had gone 22 consecutive appearances without giving up an earned run.

Kyle Higashioka hit his third home run and finished with two RBIs for the Rangers.

Neither starter went deep into the game. The Angels’ Kyle Hendricks worked 3 2/3 innings, giving up five runs, four earned. Texas’ Kumar Rocker pitched 4 1/3 innings and gave up six runs.

Key moment

Soler’s 421-foot homer to left came after Yoán Moncada’s leadoff single against Luke Jackson (2-5).

Key stat

Trout’s 29th multi-homer game — and his third this season — leaves him six homers shy of 400 for his career.

Up next

Texas’ Patrick Corbin (5-7, 4.18 ERA) pitches against the Angels’ Jack Kochanowicz (3-8, 5.42) on Thursday.

ATLANTA — Jo Adell’s run-scoring double in the eighth inning ended a scoreless tie and the Angels beat the Atlanta Braves 4-0 on Tuesday night.

The Angels (42-42) reached .500 for the ninth time this season, while the Braves (38-46) have lost five of six.

Adell’s double down the left-field line off Dylan Lee (1-3) drove in Mike Trout, who doubled. Jorge Soler, who came off the injured list after missing 11 games with lower back inflammation, added a two-run double off Enyel De Los Santos in the four-run inning.

Angels shortstop Zach Neto returned as the leadoff hitter after missing four starts with a jammed right shoulder.

“Having the two guys back makes a huge difference,” interim manager Ray Montgomery said before the game.

The refurbished lineup struggled against Atlanta right-hander Grant Holmes, who gave up only three hits and recorded 10 strikeouts in six innings. Angels left-hander Tyler Anderson also threw six scoreless innings with seven strikeouts.

Rookie right-hander José Fermin (1-0) earned his first win with a scoreless seventh.

Key moment

Michael Harris II ended an 0-for-22 drought with a triple to open the fifth. The Braves couldn’t drive in Harris thanks in part to Ronald Acuña Jr.’s third of four strikeouts in the game.

Key stat

A first-inning single extended Matt Olson’s career-best, on-base streak to 31 games. The longest active streak in the majors of games safely reaching base began May 29.

Up next

Braves rookie right-hander Didier Fuentes, 0-2 with a 10.80 ERA after two starts, was moved back one day to start Wednesday. Outfielder Jurickson Profar is expected to make his return from an 80-game suspension for performance-enhancing drug use. Left-hander Yusei Kikuchi (3-6, 2.79) is the Angels’ starter.

NEW YORK — Jazz Chisholm Jr. homered in the second inning to end New York’s 30-inning scoreless streak, but an error in the eighth inning gave the Angels a 3-2 win, sending the Yankees to their sixth straight loss Wednesday.

Mike Trout and Taylor Ward opened the eighth by drawing walks off Fernando Cruz (1-3), and Luis Rengifo walked on four pitches to load the bases. Jo Adell hit a 105.9-mph grounder to New York shortstop Anthony Volpe, who bobbled the ball and threw wide of second, allowing Trout to score.

The Yankees lost for the eighth time in 18 games, and their losing streak is the longest since they lost nine straight from Aug. 12-23, 2023.

Chisholm ended New York’s longest run-scoring drought since a 33-inning skid Sept. 22-25, 2016, when his drive down the right field line stayed inside the foul pole and tied the game at 1.

Cody Bellinger homered to give the Yankees a 2-1 lead in the fourth before Adell hit a tying homer on the first pitch of the fifth off Ryan Yarbrough. Bellinger made the final out of the eighth by fouling out with two on.

Aaron Judge went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts as his average dipped to .366.

Nolan Schanuel homered three pitches into the game for the Angels, who won a fifth straight game at Yankee Stadium — the old or new version — for the first time in team history.

Jack Kochanowicz gave up two runs and two hits in 5⅔ innings. The right-hander finished with a career-high eight strikeouts and walked three.

Kenley Jansen struck out Volpe to secure his 15th save.

Key moments: Giancarlo Stanton batted for Ben Rice in the seventh and flew out to left field against Hector Neris (3-1). In the sixth, Bellinger hit an infield single, but Trent Grisham was called out at second when his leg touched the ball. Paul Goldschmidt lined out on the next pitch.

Key stat: Stanton is five for 47 in his career as a pinch-hitter.

Up next: Yankees LHP Carlos Rodón (8-5, 3.01 ERA) opposes Angels LHP Tyler Anderson (2-4, 3.44) on Thursday.

It was supposed to be a day off for Freddie Freeman.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts quipped before the game that the 35-year-old veteran first baseman had begun to understand the value of an off day as he’s dealt with discomfort in his ankle this season.

But with the go-ahead run on second base in the eighth inning, Roberts summoned Freeman off the bench. Was it time for another magical, Freddie Freeman moment at Chavez Ravine?

Not so fast. Mets manager Carlos Mendoza called for an intentional walk, and up walked Michael Conforto. The 46,364 fans at Dodger Stadium already booed the struggling outfielder after his third-inning strikeout. Hitting .165 entering the game, he was one of the unlikeliest to lead the Dodgers to a comeback victory. He’d yet to come through.

But all Conforto needed was one hit, one chance. And he delivered.

Against Mets setup man Reed Garrett, Conforto ripped a go-ahead RBI single into left field, helping the Dodgers complete a three-run comeback to defeat the Mets 6-5 and salvage a series split against a potential NL playoff opponent.

“It’s been a grind up to this point,” Conforto said. “All I want to do is go up there and help us win. A lot of those situations I’ve come up short, so to come through today was everything.”

Closer Tanner Scott earned his first save since May 21 with a shutdown ninth inning, his second scoreless outing in a row.

Conforto’s first hit with runners in scoring position since March 31 — and his first hit this season with runners in scoring position with two outs — put the Dodgers (38-25) two games ahead of the Padres in the NL West after their 3-2 loss to the Giants on Thursday.

In recent weeks, the Dodgers clubhouse showed support to Conforto during his slump. Mookie Betts said that Conforto’s struggles were also the team’s.

“These guys have been awesome,” Conforto said of his teammates. “You spend more time with these guys than your actual family, so they’ve been part of my family. Just trying to keep me smiling, keep me laughing, so it’s been great to have their support.”

Before Conforto’s go-ahead single, Will Smith doubled home Betts, who reached on a walk. Andy Pages scraped a ball off the ground — causing havoc in the Mets’ infield and a throwing error from Brett Baty — allowing Smith to score.

For manager Dave Roberts, rallies such as Thursday’s show the might of his ballclub, he said.

“Reed Garrett’s obviously had a great year up to this point,” Roberts said. “They got a good pen. They pitch well. But the free passes, like you guys saw today, when you give teams free passes, innings are built and runs are created.”

Mets left-hander David Peterson had made things difficult before the eighth. He struck out six and gave up three runs across seven innings.

Dodgers pitcher Landon Knack reacts after giving up a home run to New York Mets outfielder Starling Marte, left, in the third inning Thursday.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

The longevity the Mets (39-24) got from Peterson, however, was the opposite of what the Dodgers received from right-hander Landon Knack.

Knack had turned a corner across his last two outings. Against both New York teams, he twirled a career-high-tying six innings and gave up just one earned run in each start. Dodgers pitching coach Mark Prior paid close attention to Knack’s adjustments, praising his rise from early-season appearances in which he was bounced from games, giving up five runs against the Nationals and Athletics.

“His ability is to be able to throw multiple pitches in any count, in any situation, and that was a little bit off early on,” Prior said, “but now I think he’s starting to finally get into the groove and kind of get back to where he was throwing the ball last year.”

Prior noted what Knack could do when he’s on — mixing pitches and speeds, making for off-balance at-bats. But he also explained what happens when Knack is off — leaving pitches in the middle zone, while falling behind in counts.

Pete Alonso slides past Dodgers catcher Will Smith to score a run for the Mets in the third inning Thursday.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Knack was at his least effective Thursday. He gave up four runs — including three home runs — leaving fastballs over the plate to Pete Alonso and Starling Marte in the first and third innings. He also walked five across 3 ⅓ innings.

“Today [my mechanics] just got a little bit out of whack there for a minute, but I think I have made too much talk on just kind of like trying — we’re getting close, we’re feeling this, feeling that — and I think it’s time to just do it,” Knack said. “To stop talking about it and just go out there and do it.”

Roberts had to lean on his bullpen. Jack Dreyer took the ball through the middle of the fifth and José Ureña — who signed with the Dodgers on Tuesday — pitched 2 ⅓ innings to help save bullpen arms ahead of a six-game trip starting Friday in St. Louis.

Left-hander Justin Wrobleski will start for the Dodgers on Friday after being recalled from triple-A Oklahoma City, Roberts said. Wrobleski gave up five runs in four innings during his last triple-A appearance.

Dodgers pitcher Tanner Scott, right, celebrates with Will Smith after closing out a 6-5 win over the Mets on Thursday.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Etc.

Roberts said right-handed relief pitchers Kirby Yates (right hamstring strain) and Michael Kopech (right shoulder impingement) have a “good possibility” of being activated off the injured list during the weekend series in St. Louis.

Likely candidates to be removed from the 26-man roster over the next few days are Ryan Loutos (five earned runs in three innings with the Dodgers) — who gave up a three-run home run in Wednesday’s 6-1 loss to the Mets — and Ureña.

Outfielders James Outman and Esteury Ruiz both had lockers in the Dodgers clubhouse Thursday. Roberts said the duo were on the taxi squad — as insurance for Hyeseong Kim and Tommy Edman — and would likely be headed back to triple-A later in the day.

Roberts gave clean bills of health to Edman (right ankle) and Kim (fouled a ball off his foot). Edman returned to the Dodgers’ lineup after two days off and hit sixth at second base.

“Looks like we’re out of the clear with those two active guys,” Roberts said.

CLEVELAND — José Soriano threw six scoreless innings, Mike Trout had a hit in his return to the Angels’ lineup in a 4-1 win over the Cleveland Guardians on Friday.

Jo Adell had three hits and an RBI and Jorge Soler hit a solo homer down the left-field line in the ninth inning as the Angels snapped a five-game losing streak.

Cleveland’s José Ramírez had his 21-game hitting streak snapped. He drew a walk in the eighth inning to extend his on-base streak to 26 games.

The Guardians, who have dropped four of their last five, avoided a shutout on Nolan Jones’ RBI single to right with two outs in the ninth.

It was the third time this season Soriano (4-5) has gone at least six innings and not given up a run. The right-hander yielded just four hits with two strikeouts and four walks.

Trout, activated off the injured list after he missed 26 games due to a bone bruise on his left knee, lined out to Ramírez at third in his first at-bat before he lined a base hit to left-center in the fourth inning.

Adell singled to right with one out in the second to drive in Soler, who drew a walk off Luis Ortiz (2-6) to lead off the inning.

The Angels added a pair of runs in the seventh when Scott Kingery scored on a passed ball and Soler had a run-scoring single to center.

Key moment: The Guardians had the bases loaded with two outs in the fourth inning, but Soriano got Gabriel Arias to chase a 98-mph sinker for the strikeout.

Key stat: Trout went one for five and batted fifth as the designated hitter. It was the first time since Sept. 26, 2011, the three-time American League MVP started a game hitting lower than third.

Up next: RHP Kyle Hendricks (2-6, 5.23 ERA) goes for the Angels while RHP Slade Cecconi (1-1, 3.27 ERA) takes the mound for the Guardians.

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.