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Tarik Skubal is a Dodger.

The five words every baseball soul outside of Los Angeles dreaded hearing.

The Dodgers are going to three-peat.

The six words that every baseball soul everywhere must now acknowledge.

It’s over. The chase for baseball’s best pitcher, the hunt by baseball’s best team, the pennant race, the World Series, all of it.

It’s over. The Dodgers just stole it all again, three months early but right on time, their third consecutive championship cemented when they traded for the Detroit Tigers’ Tarik Skubal, the two-time defending American League Cy Young Award winner and quite simply the best pitcher in baseball.

Everybody wanted him. The Dodgers were the only team with enough assets to get him. Of course they were. They always are.

And in return, they surely will win a third consecutive championship against a withering and overmatched group of pretenders that could add Skubal only in their dreams.

He cost the Dodgers minor leaguers Zyhir Hope, River Ryan and Brady Smith. So? None of the three is considered a top-five Dodgers prospect in what appears to be a scandalously one-sided deal.

He could be a free agent this winter and may cost $400 million to retain. So? The Dodgers have that much in their couch cushions.

The Dodgers’ injury-scarred rotation needed a stud starting pitcher like Skubal and, as this column noted last month, there was no excuse for baseball’s wealthiest and smartest team not to grab him.

So the Dodgers grabbed him. Of course they did. They are rushing full bore toward that three-peat and, to the delight of the most appreciative fans in baseball, nothing is going to get in their way.

“Everything that we do is in mind with the partnership that we have with our fans, the 50,000 people that come out here every day,” said Andrew Friedman, Dodgers president of baseball operations, in a Sunday afternoon news conference, later adding, “And so for us, it’s about doing our part to try to back up our end as much as we can in partnership with them to hopefully have another parade.”

Friedman has won many trades in the dozen years he’s run the Dodgers, but this may be his greatest swindle yet. Think about it. He acquired the hottest pitcher on the market for three mostly unheralded prospects nearly two full days before the trade deadline.

Geez, Detroit, you think you could have taken more time to scour the market? And with the prospect-rich Milwaukee Brewers and Atlanta Braves in the mix, you think you could have done better than one good outfielder, one injury-prone 28-year-old pitcher and one anonymous dude going nowhere?

Andrew Friedman, the Dodgers’ president of baseball operations, can’t wait to see Tarik Skubal “in Dodger blue.”

(Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)

The Dodger player reaction was shock, disbelief then joy.

“They were fired up, obviously,” said Friedman.

Nobody was more excited than Friedman, who showed rare emotion when talking about his latest triumph.

“Watching Tarik Skubal pitch in the playoffs last year was must-see TV,” he said. “I was in awe watching the energy, the dominance he exhibited there, and I can’t wait to see it in Dodger blue.”

The rest of baseball will hate them for this. They don’t care. Critics will say this is yet another example of how they are ruining the game. They could give a rip.

A move like this — the insanely rich getting insanely richer — could be cited this winter as a reason for the game shutting down over a labor dispute. Not their problem.

With a sore Shohei Ohtani looking increasingly doubtful for a meaningful October on the mound, with Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow still sidelined because of injuries, Skubal can slide into the No. 2 spot in a rotation that, if everyone gets healthy, could wind up being the best in baseball history.

Tarik Skubal was a two-time Cy Young winner for the Detroit Tigers.

(Christian Petersen / Getty Images)

Of course, in the immortal words of Kobe Bryant, the job is not finished.

There are still questions, even for a team that has all the answers.

Skubal is a tremendous postseason pitcher, with a 2.04 ERA in six starts, but will his surgically repaired left elbow survive through his third postseason?

After pushing 200 innings the last two seasons, he underwent a newfangled minimally invasive procedure on May 6 to remove a loose body from his elbow. Recovery time for a similar surgery performed the old-fashioned way is two to three months, but he was back on the mound in a game just a month later.

Will this new operation hold up? Time will tell, but the Dodgers will be holding their breath.

After Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Skubal, the Dodgers have another potentially big question. What do they do about Ohtani?

He’s got a balky knee, and now a painful biceps, and the Dodgers have kept him off the mound for a moment, but what happens in October?

By acquiring Skubal, the Dodgers can afford to pull Ohtani out of the rotation altogether and allow him to focus on hitting, which has taken a bit of a hit with the pitching issues. But would he accept such a move, which might feel like a demotion? Ohtani always has put winning first, but he also began the season openly acknowledging his quest for a Cy Young Award. So there’s that.

The Dodgers still will need some good fortune to round out the rotation.

Tarik Skubal returned to the mound in June after surgery to address an elbow issue.

(Jason Miller / Getty Images)

They say Snell and Glasnow are both on the verge of returning from what has essentially been season-long injuries. But, come October, they’ll both be 33, so believe only what you see.

Roki Sasaki has been tremendous since the All-Star break — that new glove has been a giant success — but he’s still never started a postseason game. And for all his surprise greatness this summer, Justin Wrobleski also has yet to start a postseason game.

It all could get interesting. But it shouldn’t be suspenseful.

Skubal solves all mysteries. Skubal ends all arguments. Skubal saves the summer.

The Dodgers are the most championship-driven and fan-devoted team in all of sports. They will do whatever it takes, however it takes, whenever it takes, to win.

Five words that unequivocally prove it.

Tarik Skubal is a Dodger.

CHICAGO — Dodgers third base coach Dino Ebel went directly to Shohei Ohtani’s competition for NL MVP with his gripe.

Ebel, who coached Cubs star center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong with Team USA in the World Baseball Classic this year, gave him grief for serving as the designated hitter on Wednesday. He couldn’t play center field every day?

Ohtani and Crow-Armstrong had just traded leadoff home runs, so Crow-Armstrong told reporters that he shot back with: “Well, it took your guy 10 pitches, it only took me one.”

He was exaggerating slightly. Ohtani’s leadoff homer came on the seventh pitch of the at-bat against Cubs left-hander Shota Imanaga. And that, of course, wasn’t really how Crow-Armstrong felt.

“A [seven]-pitch at-bat to start the game and finish it off with a 110 [mph] ball at 20 degrees is pretty ridiculous,” Crow-Armstrong said.

The National League MVP race transformed into a head-to-head showdown between the frontrunners at Wrigley Field on Wednesday, as the Dodgers fell to the Cubs 7-6.

“Over the course of a season, there’s a lot of ups and downs,” Ohtani, a four-time MVP, said through interpreter Will Ireton. “It’s too early to think about that. So in a way for me it’s more important for the team to win and for me to contribute to that.”

Though Crow-Armstrong played along with the MVP talk, he came around to a similar sentiment.

“I would be crazy to say that I don’t want to win an MVP, but if we’re talking about having priorities straight, I think mine are pretty straight,” he said. “It’s not on the forefront of my mind. It’s fun to joke about and it’s fun to acknowledge and I think it’s absolutely OK to pay attention to. But it’s not following me up to the plate.

“If you guys want to talk about all this back and forth, like, I really should go get in the lab and start pitching. I really should.”

Ohtani was considered the runaway MVP favorite early in the year, while his pitching performance also put him in the Cy Young conversation. But his extended absence from the mound (left knee issue) and Crow-Armstrong’s contributions on offense and defense have made the race more interesting.

Crow-Armstrong entered Wednesday leading the majors in fWAR (7.5), followed by Ohtani (6.4).

Chicago Cubs designated hitter Pete Crow-Armstrong drops the bat after hitting his second home run against the Dodgers.

(Jessie Alcheh / Associated Press)

“Simply put, just having your name in the same conversation as someone as profound as [Ohtani] feels, it’s awesome and it’s a nice nod,” Crow-Armstrong said. “It’s cool. But … I would feel much more accomplished taking them (the Dodgers) down at some point. I want to see this group (the Cubs) in October because I think it’ll be a dangerous, dangerous group in the playoffs.”

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts irked Cubs fans a week and a half ago when, asked to evaluate Ohtani’s season overall, he said he’ll still be the NL MVP.

“I haven’t followed the race,” Roberts said before the game Wednesday. “I have followed what Pete’s doing, and he’s figured some things out with the bat. “He’s having a heck of a year. And he has rightfully made it a lot closer than most people expected. He’s had a tremendous season.”

That continued in the finale of the three-game series, for Crow-Armstrong and Ohtani.

Ohtani, struck first, notching the 32nd leadoff homer of his career and 29th as a Dodger, breaking a tie with Davey Lopes for the second-most in franchise history, behind Mookie Betts (32).

In the bottom half of the inning, Crow-Armstrong matched Ohtani with a tying blast.

The next inning, he delivered a two-run double, and in the fourth, he mashed a two-run blast off the right-field scoreboard to put the Cubs up 5-1.

Not to be outdone, Ohtani led off the fifth inning with a single, but the Dodgers failed to score. Then in the eighth, he made it his first multi-homer game of the season, with a two-run shot that trimmed the Cubs’ lead to 7-6.

“He’s a great player,” Ohtani said of Crow-Armstrong. “But I’m really focused on myself on the hitting side of things right now, really working towards hopefully getting back on the mound and working on that side of the game as well.”

Ohtani’s timeline back to the mound is nebulous at this point. Roberts didn’t have a specific day circled to resume playing catch, and Ohtani didn’t provide one, either.

“It’s getting pretty good day by day,” Ohtani said of his knee. “It’s hard to tell at this point what the schedule is going to look like. First I need to do [weighted ply balls], then go into long toss, then go into a bullpen progression. Rather than rush the progression of this I would rather make sure we’re headed in the right direction. But making sure we’re taking the right steps.”

The Dodgers’ rotation depth means he doesn’t necessarily need to build up to a full starter’s workload by the end of the year. Ohtani said he’d leave the timing of his progression up to the front office.

“Any innings we get from him are bonuses, given he’s a two-way player,” Roberts said. “Whether it’s one inning, two innings, three innings, I’m not too concerned about the timeline. … I certainly see him as a starter, but how much he could give us, to then have somebody [piggybacking] behind him, that we don’t know yet.”

Freddie Freeman pulled

Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman left the game in the bottom of the fifth inning after a pitch hit his right hand. But X-rays came back negative, Roberts said.

“I obviously didn’t come out of that at-bat because I knew it hit my bat as well,” Freeman said. “It hit bat, then hand and pinched my hand onto the bat. Next pitch, I swung. I could swing, and I swung again. As the adrenaline wore off, pain got a little bit more.”

Freeman said he expects to be ready to return to the lineup by the Dodgers’ next game, against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday.

CHICAGO — The Dodgers ended up with an acute need at the trade deadline after all.

Catcher Dalton Rushing’s elbow injury was diagnosed as a partial tear of his ulnar collateral ligament, as manager Dave Roberts first told AM 570’s David Vassegh.

“It’s a bummer because he has made a lot of strides,” Roberts said before the Dodgers’ 7-6 loss to the Cubs on Wednesday, which extended the Dodgers’ season-high losing streak to six games. “Even just this right here, you’re talking about over 125 plate appearances that you’re missing out on, and also opportunities to catch major league innings. So I feel for Dalton.”

He’ll be shut down from throwing for four to six weeks, Roberts said. But the plan is for him to resume hitting before then. Asked if Rushing could catch again this season, Roberts said he believed there was a “very small” chance.

“I hope I’m wrong,” Roberts said. “He’s a tough kid, and so for him to go through this speaks a lot. So I think that would be great if he can. Certainly a possibility with the time, but we’re certainly trying to keep the bat alive, for sure.”

Even if Rushing doesn’t return behind the plate, his left-handed bat off the bench could be valuable for the Dodgers down the stretch and even into the postseason. As constructed, the Dodgers don’t have an equivalent for pinch-hitting situations.

Next, Rushing, in conversation with the team and medical staff, will have to decide whether he needs to undergo surgery to repair the ligament. He did not make the trip to Chicago, so he was not available to comment on the situation.

“Over the next couple weeks, I think that we’ll have a better idea of how he’s responding with time,” Roberts said. “I do think that there’s really not much cost, outside of two weeks or whatever, to kind of wait and see how he responds to some treatment and some kind of stuff that they decide to do.”

Depending on the severity of a partial UCL tear, rehab and strengthening the muscles around the elbow can sometimes at least put off surgery. If that’s not a viable option, there are a range of operations to address UCL injuries — from reinforcement with an internal brace, to full reconstruction (Tommy John surgery).

Elbow surgeries tend to come with a lengthy recovery timeline. So, even if surgery becomes inevitable, as long as Rushing can hit and the Dodgers think he can contribute off the bench into the postseason, holding off any operation until the offseason could make sense.

Rushing’s injury will impact not only the catching corps but also the offense, necessitating a shift to defense-first catchers.

Taking on starting catcher duties for nearly two months with Will Smith (neck) on the injured list, Rushing had an .809 OPS when the Dodgers scratched him from the game Sunday with what they initially called minor arm irritation.

“I think that it was something that was there, and then it just showed itself Sunday,” Roberts said.

Though Smith has been at least hitting in the batting cages, he’s had a back-and-forth recovery from an injury the Dodgers initially hoped wouldn’t need an IL stint.

“Everything keeps moving forward, which is a good thing,” Roberts said. “There’s no timeline as far as when he faces pitching, let alone when he goes out on a [minor-leauge rehab assignment]. Then we’ll have more clarity on a projected date of return, but right now I don’t know.”

So, the Dodgers acquired an entirely new catching tandem before the trade deadline Monday. On Tuesday, they activated Ben Rortvedt and Hunter Feduccia, both catchers who have played for the Dodgers in recent years. They optioned Eliezer Alfonzo and designated Chuckie Robonson for assignment.

Rortvedt, who Roberts said could get the “taking a lion’s share for the foreseeable future,” caught two-time Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal in his Dodgers debut Tuesday. Feduccia caught Lauer on Wednesday.

Lauer gave up six runs and 11 hits to the Cubs and lasted just four innings, in his worst appearance as a Dodger. Wednesday marked the Dodgers’ first loss with Lauer on the mound, snapping a streak of nine games.

The Cubs completed a three-game sweep, during which the Dodgers were outscored 22-12. They’ve been swept for two straight series, also dropping all three home games to the Red Sox last weekend. The Dodgers were last swept in consecutive series last year, getting swept by the Houston Astros and Milwaukee Brewers July 4-9.

MVP standoff between Ohtani, Crow-Armstrong

Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani gestures towards the dugout after hitting a home run to lead off Wednesday’s game.

(Jessie Alcheh / Associated Press)

The frontrunners in the National League MVP race traded leadoff home runs at Wrigley Field Wednesday.

First was Dodgers two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani, who notched the 32nd leadoff homer of his career and 29th as a Dodger, breaking a tie with Davey Lopes for the second-most in franchise history, behind Mookie Betts (32). And he made it his first multi-homer game of the season in the eighth inning, with a two-run shot that trimmed the Cubs’ lead to 7-6.

Cubs star center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong matched him with a tying blast in the bottom of the first inning. In the fourth, he mashed a two-run blast off the right-field scoreboard for his third multi-homer game of the season.

Roberts irked Cubs fans a week and a half ago when, asked to evaluate Ohtani’s season overall, he said he’ll still be the NL MVP.

“I haven’t followed the race,” Roberts said. “I have followed what Pete’s doing, and he’s figured some things out with the bat. “He’s having a heck of a year. And he has rightfully made it a lot closer than most people expected. He’s had a tremendous season.”

Ohtani was considered the runaway MVP favorite early in the year, while his pitching performance also put him in the Cy Young conversation. But his extended absence from the mound (left knee issue) and Crow-Armstrong’s contributions on offense and defense have made the race more interesting.

Crow-Armstrong entered Wednesday leading the majors in fWAR (7.5), followed by Ohtani (6.4).

Ohtani is expected to begin playing catch in the near future, but Roberts didn’t have a specific day circled for catch play or his return to the mound.

The Dodgers’ rotation depth means he doesn’t necessarily need to build up to a full starter’s workload by the end of the year.

“Any innings we get from him are bonuses, given he’s a two-way player,” Roberts said. “Whether it’s one inning, two innings, three innings, I’m not too concerned about the timeline. … I certainly see him as a starter, but how much he could give us, to then have somebody [piggybacking] behind him, that we don’t know yet.”

Shohei Ohtani has not pitched in a game for the Dodgers since July 3, though he admitted after Tuesday’s game that there’s more going on than just a sore left knee.

“My biceps is not 100%,” said Ohtani through interpreter Will Ireton while speaking with the media for the first time since before the All-Star break. “Just [a] similar issue with the knee. Do we consider pushing this? It is still July. So, I think the conversation would be a little different if we’re in August or September.”

Ohtani, who has remained in the lineup at designated hitter, has stalled in his throwing program after the team scratched a bullpen session tentatively scheduled for last Saturday that was to come on the heels of a roughly 30-pitch side session he threw last Wednesday in Philadelphia.

Ohtani received an orthovisc injection in his knee on July 12 and he skipped All-Star Game obligations in Philadelphia to allow for rest and recovery. But it remains unclear when Ohtani will return to the mound, and though manager Dave Roberts remains optimistic about him pitching again this season, concerns about building back up start to factor in.

“We are getting closer to that,” Roberts said. “You know, he’s a starting pitcher, and then, when you start missing three, four, five weeks of that build-up, then you’ve got to kind of start up again.”

Ohtani, who led off Tuesday’s 7-6 loss to the Seattle Mariners with a home run, clarified the origins of his knee problem and shared an estimate of where it’s at strength-wise.

“The discomfort was caused initially by the pitching,” Ohtani said. “So, it’s something I have to work around. In terms of running, I’m not exactly at 100% capacity. When I know it’s not, then it’s always a little harder to be aggressive on the basepaths.”

Ohtani and Roberts both said that the Dodgers haven’t reached a point of considering shutting down Ohtani from pitching.

“Everything that I’ve heard, that’s not the option,” Roberts said. “I guess anything’s possible, but for me, it’s highly unlikely.”

Added Ohtani: “The knee is where it is in terms of, for it to heal is the most important priority. I don’t think the team has really come to a place exactly where, do I pitch through it or not. That’s still really up in the air.”

In other injury-related updates, Kiké Hernández was activated Tuesday after being out since May 26 with a grade 3 oblique strain. Alex Freeland was optioned to triple-A Oklahoma City in a corresponding move.

“All you can do is take it one day at a time,” said Hernández, who did not play Tuesday. “And the best way that you can take things one day at a time is focusing on what you can do today to get better. And that’s what I did … literally going one day at a time and trying to be the best rehabber I could … the best teammate that I could. … It’s been a really long time. … So, I feel pretty good, and happy to see what I can do out on the field.”

Hernández had already made his season debut late — on May 25 — because of his recovery from offseason elbow surgery. Now, the 34-year-old utilityman is grateful to be back and eager to build on his four-for-four start over two games.

“A lot of nervousness,” Hernández said about playing again, mentioning that he had a panic attack when first learning of his worse-than-expected diagnosis. “I feel pretty good. … I feel like everything is in a pretty good spot right now. Trying to keep my 1.000 batting average going and be the best hitter in the league.

“[I’m] just happy to be back with the boys.”

Edwin Díaz will be the next to return.

The right-handed closer is scheduled to be activated Wednesday — fittingly, when 40,000 fans will receive an Díaz bobblehead — after missing three months because of right elbow surgery.

“He’s checked all his boxes,” Roberts said. “So getting him back in the mix is going to be fun for all of us as well.”

Meanwhile, Will Smith is starting baseball activities “pain-free” after sitting on the injured list since June 5 with a neck injury, Roberts added, and Tyler Glasnow will throw a live session Wednesday after being out since May with a back problem.

PHILADELPHIA — Shohei Ohtani wrapped up long toss in the Citizens Bank Park outfield Wednesday afternoon, turned and headed for the two-story bullpen stairs.

Ohtani had initially been scheduled to take the mound for the Dodgers Wednesday against the Phillies. But, with the date of his next pitching start up in the air, his bullpen session still drew a lot of eyes.

Ohtani threw off a mound Wednesday for the first time since receiving an Orthovisc injection in his left knee to lubricate the joint. The side session of about 30 pitches, running through multiple pitch types, was similar to a normal between-starts bullpen, pitching coach Mark Prior said.

“It looked good,” Prior said. “Feels good. We’ll see where he’s at tomorrow.”

Asked if Ohtani said his knee was feeling 100%, Prior said they didn’t get into specifics.

“Just said, ‘How did you feel throwing?’ He said it felt great,” Prior said.

Ohtani, who was in the lineup Wednesday as the designated hitter, was not made available to comment before the game.

It’s still unclear when Ohtani will pick up pitching duties again. But manager Dave Roberts ruled out Ohtani starting on the mound this weekend against the Mets.

“It’s day by day with him,” Prior said. “We’re present today. He threw a bullpen, see where he comes in … Friday, since we’re off [Thursday]. We’ll make determinations after that.”

This bullpen session was a chance for Ohtani to test his knee, which before the injection seemed to be aggravated by pitching.

“It’s a big sign,” Roberts said. “Because the grass, the flat ground, all of that stuff is well and good, the arm is fine. So it’s more of getting down the slope, throwing over your front side. That’s kind of the big test. Usually the bullpens are right around 88 (mph), so we’ll see where he’s at.”

Ohtani has already been out long enough that the Dodgers will have to be mindful of his workload whenever he rejoins the rotation. His last start on the mound was July 3 against the Padres.

“I still think it hasn’t been so long that the equity that he’s built up with the pitch count is that much compromised,” Roberts said. “But with that, I can’t foresee him running out there and throwing 100 pitches his first outing.”

If he’s sidelined for too long, he could have to gradually build up with each start. But it’s hard to pinpoint where that delineation lies.

“I think the easy answer is to say every pitcher is different,” Roberts said.

NEW YORK — The Dodgers don’t know when Shohei Ohtani will take the mound next.

He was tentatively scheduled to start Wednesday against the Phillies, after promising initial reports on his recovery from an injection in his left knee. But after seeing his knee’s response to playing catch, the team decided to give him more time.

“We just want to continue to give it the best chance to kind of get into a good spot,” manager Dave Roberts said. “And as he said, as we feel, it’s the pitching and the torque of landing on that leg that kind of gets it upset.”

It was clear enough from catch play that Ohtani’s start would have to be pushed back that Ohtani did not feel the need to test it by throwing off a mound, Roberts said.

“Where we’re at right now, how we’re proceeding, I would say that it’s going to be some time,” Roberts said. “It’s not going to be a day-to-day thing.”

That left a wide range of timeline possibilities, from days to weeks. Roberts did, however, rule out shutting Ohtani down from pitching for the rest of the season.

“I guess anything is possible, but I just don’t think that’s a possibility,” he said.

To fill Ohtani’s spot in the rotation this week, the Dodgers moved right-hander Emmet Sheehan’s start to Monday. Before the rainout bumped the second game of the series against the New York Yankees, Sheehan was scheduled to start Saturday.

For Sunday’s doubleheader, right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto will take the mound in the first game. The bullpen, and potentially multiple innings from the 27th man, will cover the nightcap.

“Honestly, a lot of it is where we’re at and how we’ve put ourselves in a good spot,” Roberts said of the MLB-leading Dodgers. “Could [Ohtani] probably do it? Sure. But right now, the benefits just don’t seem to outweigh the cost at this time of the season. So I think we still have plenty of time to get him to a good spot to then pitch.”

Ohtani, who went hitless in four at-bats as the designated hitter in Friday’s 2-1 win, was set to DH and hit leadoff in Sunday’s first game.

Dodgers catcher Dalton Rushing spun to face home plate umpire Dan Iassogna, holding up his mitt with the ball inside.

When that didn’t change the safe call, Dalton immediately pointed to the Dodgers dugout, mask in hand urging manager Dave Roberts to challenge.

Robert’s hands flew up to his ears, asking for a replay review.

The tension in Dodger Stadium broke with the announcement: “The catcher touched the runner’s hand before he reached the plate…”

The crowd’s applause drowned out the rest.

The go-ahead run had been on the line with that challenge in the Dodgers’ eventual 8-7 win over the Rockies in 11 innings. And it started a wild sequence to the Dodgers’ first extra-innings game of the season that ended with Rushing hitting a walk-off single to center field to score Teoscar Hernández.

That brawl with the Rockies — figuratively and almost literally — finished with the Dodgers becoming the first team to win 60 games this season.

“That’s a lot of wins,” Roberts said.

It looked as if the Dodgers would coast to the mark. Dodgers closer Tanner Scott took the mound in the ninth with a three-run lead. But after giving up an RBI double to Kyle Karros and a two-run double to Cole Carrigg the score was tied. Only a strong relay throw home by second baseman Miguel Rojas and a successful challenge prevented Hunter Goodman from scoring a go-ahead run.

In the bottom of the ninth, the Dodgers got runners on first and second with two outs. That brought up Andy Pages with two outs, but a successful Rockies ABS challenge confirmed a strikeout, sending the game into the 10th.

That ended the Dodgers’ streak of 91 games without extra innings, the second-longest a team has gone without playing an extra-inning game in the modern era, behind only the 2005 Red Sox (99).

The drama wasn’t over. Two batters into the 10th, the benches cleared.

With one out and Carrigg on third, Jake McCarthy hit a sharp ground ball to Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman, who stepped on the bag and fired home.

Rushing flung his body into the tag, but Carrigg was called safe.

Carrigg said something as began to walk away, and Rushing spun around.

As the two exchanged words, Dodgers reliever Edgardo Henriquez pulled his catcher away. But players from both dugouts and bullpens already began to spill onto the field.

Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy holds back Dalton Rushing after the Dodgers catcher got into a confrontation with Colorado’s Cole Carrigg in the 10th inning Monday.

(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)

“I think that what happened is Carrigg said something aloud, not directed at Dalton,” Roberts said. “Dalton thought something was directed at him. We cleared the air. Basically a big misunderstanding.”

Said Rushing: “I didn’t mean any harm by the tag or the way I reacted to the ball. Made sure he knew that. Told him I was just reacting to the baseball. I don’t expect it to go any further.”

After a brief stoppage, Henriquez escaped without further damage. And the Dodgers got another shot, with Pages on second to start the inning.

Freeman’s groundout moved him to third. Then Mookie Betts drove him in with a comebacker over the mound and past flailing second baseman Edouard Julien.

Tucker then looped a single into no-man’s land. But the rally ended when Hernández’s liner up the middle landed in the glove of Rockies right-hander Jimmy Herget, who just entered the game, catching Kyle Tucker off first base for a double play.

In the 11th, Henriquez got out of the inning unscathed. He got Julien to pop out on a sacrifice bunt attempt and then started a double play himself. He punched the air as he walked off the mound.

“He’s calm in big spots, you’re starting to see it,” Roberts said. “He’s throwing strikes, throwing the breaking ball when he needs to and he’s now unfazed by certain moments and higher leverage. He’s a guy, certainly, we trust.”

In the end, Rushing — who already hit a pair of doubles and scored on Shohei Ohtani’s third-inning home run and fourth-inning two-run single — was the hero.

After Hernández made it to third on a sacrifice bunt by Tommy Edman, Dalton got the end of his bat on a changeup and sent it up the middle, just out of reach of a diving Julien.

“Infield’s in, they’re kind of doing you a favor,” Rushing said. “So move the ball forward, good things happen. And it wasn’t pretty, but it worked.”

Rushing’s helmet twirled in the dirt behind him as he jogged from first toward the center of the field, ready for the celebration that would meet him there.

“He plays with a lot of moxie,” said Dodgers starting pitcher Eric Lauer, who held the Rockies to three runs in six innings. “And he definitely doesn’t back down to anybody, and we love him for that. He’s a great guy that you want on your team.”

Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani rounds the bases after hitting a two-run home run in the third inning against the Rockies on Monday.

(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)

Roster moves

Dodgers right-hander Evan Phillips is in line to make his first major-league appearance since May 2025. Phillips only made seven appearances last season, starting on the injured list with a strained rotator cuff before undergoing Tommy John surgery in June.

“It’s going to be a lot different tonight getting back out there in a competitive game, the full atmosphere,” Phillips said. “Really excited about that. I feel like probably the past two weeks or so I really took a good turn in my rehab, started bouncing back even better, pitching more like myself, feeling more like myself. So really just happy to carry that over to these games and see how the second half treats us.”

In a pair of corresponding moves, the Dodgers optioned right-handed reliever Paul Gervase to triple-A Oklahoma City and released left-hander Jake Eder.

The Dodgers also designated catcher Chuckie Robinson for assignment and added right-hander Carlos Duran to the 40-man roster. Both players are set to stay in Oklahoma City, with Robinson accepting his outright assignment.

CHICAGO — Fans around Rate Field rose to their feet as Yoshinobu Yamamoto embraced his teammates before walking off the mound.

Of course, the Dodgers fans stood. But fans clad in White Sox jerseys joined them, waving White Sox hats in the air, acknowledging the brilliance they’d just witnessed.

In the Dodgers’ 7-1 win against the White Sox on Saturday, Yamamoto carried a perfect game bid into the eighth inning and a no-hit bid into the ninth.

Dating back to Yamamoto’s last start, against the Angels, he retired 45 straight batters, one shy of the major-league record set by Yusmeiro Petit in 2014.

In an eventful game, which included Shohei Ohtani returning to the lineup to homer in his first at-bat, a two-homer performance from Max Muncy, and a team-effort bounce-back after getting blown out the night before, Yamamoto’s performance on the mound stole the show.

Yamamoto, who exited with one out in the ninth inning and a pitch count of 109, was efficient even within each out. A 10-pitch strikeout in the third inning showed how Yamamoto wasn’t going to give in.

The Dodgers right-hander was one pitch away from striking out Jacob Gonzalez for seven straight pitches. But Gonzalez kept fouling off anything close to the strike zone.

For the 10th pitch of the at-bat, Yamamoto challenged Gonzalez with a cutter over the plate. And finally, Gonzalez swung through it.

The next inning, Yamamoto retired the side in eight pitches.

The only thing that slowed his roll was the mound itself. Yamamoto asked for the grounds crew to fix it in the sixth. And then he kept cruising.

Dodgers catcher Dalton Rushing slaps hands with Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto in the ninth inning Saturday against the White Sox.

(Zoe Davis / Getty Images)

He had help from a steady defense behind him for much of the game.

The sixth inning included two highlight-worthy plays. Tristan Peters hit a sharp ground ball up the first-base line, and first baseman Freddie Freeman made a sliding stop, tossing the ball to Yamamoto at first to complete the play. Then left-fielder Alex Call ran into the retaining wall in foul territory to catch Edgar Quero’s fly ball for the final out of the inning.

For the most part, Yamamoto made it look easy. The hardest contact against Yamamoto came the third time through the lineup. In the seventh, he pumped a heater to the top rail against Miguel Vargas, who stayed on top of the pitch to send a line drive to left field — and right to Call.

In the eighth, he fell behind Colson Montgomery 3-1. But he worked back to a full count. Montgomery then scorched a line drive up the first-base line — into Freeman’s glove.

His perfect game bid ended two batters later, with two outs, on an error.

Yamamoto got Chase Meidroth to chase a slider, hitting a ground ball to shortstop Mookie Betts. But Betts mishandled the hop. The ball shot to his left, where second baseman Santiago Espinal tried to salvage the play but couldn’t pick up the ricochet cleanly.

The no-hit bid was next to fall. Yamamoto piped a fastball down the middle to Peters, who sent it over the wall in right field.

Yamamoto stayed in for one more batter, inducing Quero to fly out, before handing the ball over to manager Dave Roberts. Left-hander Alex Vesia took over for the final two outs.

Ohtani returns, hits home run

Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani runs the bases after hitting a home run against the White Sox on Saturday.

(Matt Marton / Associated Press)

Before Yamamoto took the mound, Ohtani’s return was the big story of the day.

As Ohtani stepped into the batter’s box for the first time, he was greeted by a smattering of boos.

He took his first swing at the second pitch of the game. And he sent it into the right-field stands. A no-doubter, proclaiming that his availability was no longer in doubt.

Ohtani returned to the Dodgers lineup after exiting against the Pirates on Thursday because of inflammation in his left knee.

“I think Shohei drove it,” Roberts said of the decision to play. “Training staff drove it. We took him out of the game the other night just for precautionary reasons. Yesterday, treated it up. Today he feels great. All the confidence that he can go out there and hit, feel good, not regress at all.”

The Dodgers (45-26) will continue to monitor Ohtani’s knee as he prepares to take the mound Wednesday against the Tampa Bay Rays at Dodger Stadium.

“I think we’re full go,” Roberts said before Ohtani threw on flat ground Saturday. “But I do think once he’s out there playing catch and we see how his knee responds to the pressure, the torque will be some good information.”

Even before Ohtani’s knee swelled (it’s still unclear what caused the inflammation) the Dodgers planned to have him pitch the day before their off-day on Thursday.

They switched Ohtani and left-hander Justin Wrobleski in the rotation order, with Wrobleski set to pitch Tuesday on regular rest.

That remains the plan, even after Wrobleski was hit in the leg by a comebacker Thursday. He left the game with a bruised right hamstring.

The Dodgers considered bringing in a spot starter, Roberts said, in order to keep the full rotation on extra rest.

“But considering how Wrobo’s start went short, feels good after it, we feel the four days’ rest will be fine for him,” Roberts said. “And then where Shohei is at, we feel good about just leaving it status quo.”

Ohtani returned without restrictions in his designated-hitter role — except for one request from his manager, after a couple days of parsing whether a steal attempt that was snuffed out by a foul ball had contributed to Ohtani’s injury.

Though they didn’t find a clear inciting incident, Roberts made it clear Saturday: “There will be no base stealing.”

Baseball players are superstitious — it comes with the territory.

But not even UCLA coach John Savage, who has coached the Bruins since 2004, has seen something that rivals pitcher Angel Cervantes and his mini toy dinosaur, Jerry.

A two-inch triceratops, Jerry sits behind the 6-foot-2 freshman every time the righty takes the mound, serving as a familiar — albeit tiny — face Cervantes can turn to for reassurance.

“[Cervantes] used the word childish,” Savage recalled. “And I kind of like that because that’s the first thing you think, like, ‘What the hell? Baby dinosaur? What are we doing?’ And so, he got a little chuckle out of it. He doesn’t take himself too serious, and I like that from a young guy. But it’s something that he loves and works off and, you know, good for him.”

Jerry took the world by storm as Cervantes, making his postseason debut Sunday, tossed five scoreless innings in UCLA’s 3-2 11-inning win over Oregon in the Big Ten championship game. The broadcast crew zoomed in on the dino, and the rest remains history.

Cervantes didn’t expect his mini dinosaur to be a hot topic throughout college baseball. The pitcher found it “crazy” to see himself and Jerry showered with love in social media posts shared by ESPN and MLB.

However, as the virality increases, Cervantes has been an open book about Jerry.

“Jerry, he’s a big part of my plan,” he said. “He just keeps me calm.”

The triceratops has been calming Cervantes since his senior year at Downey’s Warren High School.

In George Redfox’s photography class, Cervantes and his classmates were assigned to take pictures of mini dinosaurs on the ground at varying angles. With the longtime teacher’s approval, Cervantes and a friend kept a pair of dinosaurs; one was named Tom, and the other Jerry, inspired by the show Cervantes loved watching with his dad growing up.

Cervantes first placed Jerry behind him on the mound during a game at Angel Stadium and has made it routine ever since.

“I put my hand on my lid, I look down, and I close my eyes,” Cervantes said of his superstition. “And once I open my eyes, I look at Jerry, and that’s when I know it’s time to go. If I’m [ahead] 0-2, I like to slow myself down. I don’t want to think ahead. Or, after a first-pitch strike [or] the beginning of the inning, you know, whatever. Whenever I think the moment’s getting a little big, I want to slow things down.”

Some players pat their gloves. Others chew gum or spit seeds. But Cervantes? He just looks at his little pal.

UCLA pitcher Angel Cervantes holds his good luck toy dinosaur.

(Joaquin Ruiz / For The Times)

As Savage said, the arrangement is unique.

However, what works, works. And the Bruins, when they’re not worrying about stepping on Jerry or watching the tiny-but-mighty dino get obliterated by a grounder up the middle, are all for anything that will empower Cervantes to be his best.

“I remember seeing [Jerry] for the first time in the fall, and I just thought it was funny,” UCLA junior catcher Cashel Dugger said. “I think it’s just his thing, and it keeps him comfortable out there. And if he’s comfortable out there, then I think everybody else is good for it …”

Jerry didn’t just help Cervantes thrive in the biggest game of his life to help the Bruins earn their first Big Ten conference title.

Rather, the dino helped Cervantes evolve from an adapting freshman into a trustworthy arm — that enters the NCAA tournament with a 3.86 ERA with just one run given up over his last five outings — in a rotation that needed a boost, as right-handed ace Logan Reddemann has been out with arm soreness since mid-April.

“He was not ready, three [to] four months ago, to be a weekend starter,” Savage said of Cervantes, who the Pittsburgh Pirates selected with the No. 50 overall pick in the 2025 MLB draft. “In terms of Angel, it’s really been a fun progression. It’s really, I think, the epitome of development, of not rushing a guy with high expectations. I mean, he [was the] 50th pick … you would think [he’d] be plug-in-and-go. But in today’s world of college baseball, being barely 18 years old … he just wasn’t there yet, and he needed to fall.”

Jerry isn’t on UCLA’s roster and probably won’t be sized for championship rings any time soon.

But don’t get it twisted: there’s only one tiny dinosaur Cervantes looks to when he feels the heat, or for a lift when he falls. The two, quite literally, are inseparable.

“He’s in my backpack,” Cervantes said when asked where Jerry goes after games. “So, he’s still with me. I don’t want to keep him in my pocket — maybe I’ll grab my wallet, and he suddenly falls out. I’m always on top of where I keep him.”

Jerry has the trust of everyone in Westwood as UCLA begins its quest for a second national title in program history on Friday against Saint Mary’s.

The Bruins love him. The fans love him. Heck, even umpires can’t help but smile when met with the triceratops.

“Every time they do checks — like, they check my hands and glove — they’re always asking what’s in my pockets or hand, because before they do that, I put Jerry in the pocket. And I just put my hand out, and Jerry’s just right there. ‘Oh, OK, cool. Go get ‘em.’ So they’re always having a smile on their face.”

Cervantes and the Bruins still have a ways to go before they’re champions of the world. But if anything is certain, it’s that Jerry will be there every step of the way, whether on the mound with the freshman or in his backpack.

Oh, and if Cervantes ever gets to make that dream big-league appearance one day, he made it clear: He’d do everything he could to share the experience with Jerry.

“Someone said that if the batter ever gets mad and goes up to the pitcher, that Jerry will be right behind him,” Cervantes said of his favorite social media comment about his mini companion. “And that we should get a helmet for Jerry.”

Mason Edwards has first-round hype ahead of July’s 2026 MLB draft for a reason.

USC’s ace takes the mound like a boxer enters the ring, eager to land blow after blow. And as the Trojans (43-15) open the NCAA tournament in College Station, Texas, at 6 p.m. PDT Friday (ESPNU), the southpaw packs a serious punch. He carries a nation-leading 160 strikeouts and the second-best 1.43 ERA.

“They’re getting a competitor,” Edwards said of what people can expect when he pitches. “There have been a lot of situations where I’ve had to battle and fight adversity. So, I think you’ll see a good fight when I toe the rubber. I’m not going to shy away from any type of competition.”

If anything, the competition probably shies away from Edwards.

Named the Big Ten 2026 Pitcher of the Year after stacking a record 113 strikeouts in conference play, Edwards is integral to what has been USC’s best team since the early 2000s.

The junior enters Friday’s regional matchup against Texas State with a perfect 8-0 record through 15 starts and 88 1/3 total innings and has collected nine-plus strikeouts in all but two games during the 2026 season — earning a career-high 16 in a 9-2 home win over Iowa on April 10.

MLB.com ranks Edwards No. 36 in its latest draft prospect rankings. Despite being on his way to becoming a professional baseball player, Edwards remains focused on helping the Trojans pursue their first national title since 1998.

“It’s important to stay present,” Edwards said. “I still play at SC, so I’m still concerned with how USC’s doing and how our team is doing. At the end of the day, that’s what’s important right now. It’s a team sport, it’s not tennis or golf. Got to stay grounded with what’s important. Team winning; going to a regional, winning that; trying to take this team to Omaha. That’s the biggest thing.”

Edwards, 20, is having fun while focusing on the Trojans.

Describing himself as playful, “cool with everyone” and as an “all-around happy” person, Edwards is enjoying his third year at USC, particularly as a teammate everybody can rely on.

Underrecruited during his prep career at Palisades Charter High, Edwards was inconsistent during his first season with the Trojans. He had some promising outings but finished with a 7.88 ERA and 1-3 record through 37 2/3 frames.

Edwards improved as a sophomore, serving as a starter and reliever, finishing with a 3.86 ERA and 3-0 record over 32 2/3 innings. However, he dealt with minor arm injuries and still didn’t have a clear-cut role.

Today, though, Edwards is one of the best pitchers in the country. And his skipper couldn’t be prouder.

“His development’s been really good,” USC coach Andy Stankiewicz said of Edwards. “He’s gotten better. That’s the thing we’re proud of. He’s a guy that’s been in our program for three years. Mason was trying to figure out who he was gonna be. ‘Is he going to be a starter? Is he going to be a reliever? So, he was kind of that spot starter … When he was a youngster, sometimes his misses [were] really big, and they really weren’t competitive pitches. Now, every pitch is pretty competitive.”

Stankiewicz credited Trojans pitching coach Sean Allen for helping Edwards, known for his rising heater, improve his curveball and develop his breaking ball.

The four-year head coach also praised Edwards for being an increasingly confident leader.

“Guys like him,” Stankiewicz said. “Guys enjoy being around him. I enjoy his growth. I enjoy being around him. He’s fun. We can tease each other pretty well and have fun with it. [Edwards was] a typical young man his freshman year, doesn’t say much. And then by the junior, senior year, they just grow up.”

The ace said he appreciates Stankiewicz, noting the coach’s emphasis on making sure players leave the program as “good men.”

Edwards also shouted out Trojans director of player development Josh Goossen-Brown, for being in his corner for years.

“He’s been through it all,” Edwards said of Goossen-Brown. “Been working with him since high school — very early high school — and he works here now. So, very small world, that he was able to get a job here.”

It’s hard not to see how the stars have aligned for Edwards.

While he didn’t consider USC his dream school growing up, Edwards is achieving Trojans royalty status, with loved ones nearby to support his journey in the same threads as great Trojans he idolized such as Randy Johnson and Seth Etherton.

Already named his conference’s best pitcher, Edwards is a semifinalist for both National Pitcher of the Year and for the Golden Spikes Award — given to the best amateur baseball player in America — after becoming the first USC pitcher to surpass 140 strikeouts in a single season since Ian Kennedy in 2005.

Edwards said he has always believed in himself, especially after a particularly rocky freshman campaign when his future appeared far from clear.

“When you’re your own person, you kind of see more than something other people might see,” Edwards said. “But yeah, freshman year, I flashed stuff that I really held onto. It was definitely a roller coaster … but you just hold on to the good things. Really holding on to those positives and trying to take them into the following years has been a big part of why you see that development process.”

SAN DIEGO — The crack of the bat reverberated throughout Petco Park. The crowd let out a collective, “Oh.” And Shohei Ohtani started his trot around the bases.

Padres center fielder Jackson Merrill made a valiant effort to bring back the home run. But after leaping and stretching his entire torso over the top of the wall, the ball fell just out of his reach.

Ohtani, hitting while pitching for the first time in almost four weeks, had homered on the first pitch of the game.

Manager Dave Roberts has held Ohtani out of the batting order for each of his last three starts on the mound, in what’s become a start-by-start decision. But Wednesday, he handled pitching and hitting duties, with immediate positive feedback.

“Obviously it’s a big series, and with the way he’s swinging the bat, I feel it gives us the best chance to win,” Roberts said before the game. “And last week, giving him a couple days off to reset, I thought that was beneficial. We’re on the heels of an off day [Thursday]. So I think all that in total, it just made sense to have him hit today.”

Roberts has also witnessed a “recharged” Ohtani on this trip, as evident on the basepaths and in the batter’s box.

Roberts and Ohtani differ in how much they credit his offensive turnaround to the two-day break from hitting that Roberts gave the two-way phenom last week, versus the progress he was already showing. But Ohtani entered Wednesday with four doubles and 10 hits total in five games against the Angels and Padres.

“I think he’s getting there,” Roberts said before the game. “I wouldn’t say he’s back; I think he’s getting there.”