Sasaki

NEW YORK — Kyle Tucker’s first home run in nearly a month lifted the Dodgers to a 4-2 victory over the New York Mets on Friday night.

Starting pitcher Roki Sasaki held the Mets to just three hits, which included a solo homer from Luis Roberts Jr. that accounted for the only run Sasaki surrendered. He threw seven innings for the third time this season.

The extra velocity that Sasaki mustered in his last start against the New York Yankees — when he surpassed 101 mph in a regular season game for the first time in his MLB career — didn’t make an encore against the Mets (43-61).

Instead, Sasaki leaned on his splitter, throwing it 47% of the time, compared to his season average of 26%.

The Dodgers tied the score 1-1 in the fourth inning. Freddie Freeman, who finished with three hits, led with a single. Mookie Betts matched him, then Miguel Rojas stayed back on a changeup and sent it to deep right field for a sacrifice fly.

The Dodgers twice fell victim to Mets right fielder Carson Benge’s arm in the fifth and sixth. First, Shohei Ohtani was thrown out trying to stretch a double into a triple after a relay throw by Francisco Lindor. Benge threw out Freeman at the plate in the sixth on a Rojas popout to right.

Kyle Tucker follows through on a two-run home run for the Dodgers in the eighth inning of a 4-2 win Friday night over the New York Mets.

(Jim McIsaac / Getty Images)

In the seventh, the Dodgers (66-38) started to build another rally. Dalton Rushing laid down a bunt with runners on the corners. But it bounced right to pitcher Brooks Raley, who flipped the ball to the plate to eventually snare Tucker in a rundown between third and home.

On the next at-bat, Ohtani drove in Teoscar Hernández from third on a sacrifice fly to center field.

Tucker’s two-run homer in the eighth provided the Dodgers some insurance they would end up using when Evan Phillips gave up a solo homer to Francisco Alvarez in the bottom of the inning. It was Tucker’s first home run since June 27.

Injury updates

Right-hander Tyler Glasnow (back spasms) has progressed to the live batting practice phase of his rehab progression, manager Dave Roberts said. It’s a promising sign for a pitcher who twice had to shut down throwing early in his rehab when he aggravated the injury.

Closer Edwin Díaz (arthroscopic elbow surgery) came out well from throwing on back-to-back days in a triple A rehab assignment.

“We talked about him flying across the country; doesn’t make a lot of sense,” Roberts said. “So I think he’s supposed to pitch on Sunday, and then if that goes well, he should be back with us when we get back on Tuesday.”

The Dodgers begin a six-game homestand Tuesday, against the Seattle Mariners and Boston Red Sox.

Catcher Will Smith’s timeline to return from a neck injury remains unclear, after the Dodgers temporarily shut him down from baseball activities, beginning around the All-Star break.

“He’s pain free,” Roberts. “He’s getting back into being more active.”

NEW YORK — Dodgers All-Star third baseman Max Muncy didn’t get a break this week, traveling to Philadelphia to compete in the Midsummer Classic. But even without the extra rest, he put a charge into his go-ahead swing Friday.

The Dodgers struggled against veteran Yankees starter Gerrit Cole — until he hung a slider to Muncy in the seventh inning. Muncy launched it for a two-run blast to carry the Dodgers to a 2-1 victory.

“Anytime you can find a way to win a game when Gerrit Cole’s pitching, it’s a good thing,” manager Dave Roberts said.

Between the come-from-behind win, a strong showing from Dodgers starter Roki Sasaki and a defensive turnaround, the Dodgers (62-36) came out of the All-Star break on a positive note.

It was clear early on that Sasaki, who didn’t give up an earned run in 5 ⅔ innings, had something a little extra.

Pitching at Yankee Stadium for the first time, he punctuated a clean first inning by getting ahead of Paul Goldschmidt with 101.8- and 101.7-mph fastballs, en route to a five-pitch strikeout.

“I got a big smile on my face when I saw 102,” Roberts said.

It was the first time Sasaki topped 101 mph in a regular-season game, according to Statcast. He threw 21 pitches at 100 mph or harder, the most of any Dodger since pitch tracking began in 2008. Sasaki pointed to the rest he got over the All-Star break and a delivery tweak for his increase in velocity.

“I kind of changed the way I use my lower body,” Sasaki said. “So I’m really happy to get that velo up.”

The Yankees (54-43) scored their only run against Sasaki by taking advantage of a pair of defensive mistakes.

With two outs in the fourth, center fielder Andy Pages bobbled Jasson Domínguez’s double in right-center field, giving him time to get to third. The next pitch, a forkball, got past catcher Dalton Rushing, and Domínguez raced home.

Pages later found some redemption with a defensive gem to end the fifth. He made a full-speed tumbling catch in the right-field gap to rob Austin Wells of an extra-base hit.

Cole held the Dodgers to just four hits in six-plus innings. Before the seventh, only one Dodgers runner reached second base, when Kyle Tucker and Teoscar Hernández hit back-to-back singles in the second.

Cole came back out for the seventh and walked Mookie Betts to lead off the inning. After a mound visit, he stayed in to face Muncy.

“It was a tough decision for [Yankees manager Aaron Boone],” Roberts said. “You’re thinking about going to the ‘pen, or do you let your ace go after Max and Tucker. And Max spoiled some good pitches and then got a pitch in his wheelhouse and put a good swing on it.”

Muncy fell into a two-strike count, but he kept battling. On the seventh pitch, he saw something he could drive — 416 feet at a 30-degree launch angle, to be exact.

“The swing felt great,” Muncy said on the Spectrum SportsNet LA broadcast. “The result was better and it gave us a chance to win.”

Dodgers relievers Jack Dreyer, Alex Vesia and Tanner Scott chipped in a combined 3⅓ scoreless innings to secure the win. The Yankees came inches away from tying the score in the eighth, but the Dodgers, shaking off their pre-All-Star break rough patch, delivered on defense.

With Trent Grisham on first after a walk, Ben Rice hit a double into the right-field gap off Vesia. Pages chased down the ball and quickly fired to shortstop Betts, who threw it home. Rushing’s sweeping tag beat Grisham to the plate.

“I think it was huge,” Betts said. “We still had a couple mishaps in this game. We’ve got to clean that up for sure. You can’t win a World Series doing what we did today. But we’ll keep working and try to clean it up.”

Dodgers rout the Padres

From Liana Handler: Roki Sasaki’s abysmal appearance faded away in the Dodgers’ 12-7 win over the San Diego Padres after the Dodgers roared back from a 6-0 deficit as Andy Pages skirted a tying double down the left-field line, and Mookie Betts and Max Muncy each drove in runs to give them the lead. All of which sent the sellout crowd into jubilant celebrations, some jumping, others breaking out World Cup chants.

“I don’t know,” manager Dave Roberts said of the team’s ability to turn the game around. “Thankfully, it played out the way I didn’t expect, or the way it started.”

By the time the game ended, Sasaki’s three-inning start seemed like a murky nightmare the Dodgers awoke from in a sweat. Except the Dodgers weren’t dreaming, and the team hadn’t done much to assuage the concerns with Sasaki.

The problem with Sasaki isn’t his stuff. On his best nights, when the velocity and command combine, Sasaki blows past batters with a triple-digit fastball and cutting off-speed pitches. The problem has been how to tick the radar without making the strike zone look like a Jackson Pollock painting — and recently, it has.

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Dodgers box score

MLB standings

World Cup: U.S. team maintains focus before Belgium match

From Kevin Baxter: Mauricio Pochettino’s team continues to do things in this summer’s World Cup that no U.S. team has ever done before.

Its three wins are the most in a single tournament. So are the 10 goals in four games. It has the best goal differential ever and its two shutouts ties a record.

Yet all that means absolutely nothing to the players.

“They’re great milestones,” captain Tim Ream said. “But I don’t think anybody’s even once mentioned the different things that we’re doing. We’re focused on what we’re doing daily on the training ground, because that puts us in the best possible position to to put these performances.

“So yeah, not aware or even worried about records that we’re breaking.”

Well, except for maybe one.

With Wednesday’s gritty 2-0 over Bosnia and Herzegovina, a game the U.S. finished with just 10 men, the Americans won a game in the World Cup knockout stage for just the second time. That sends them on to a round-of-16 meeting with Belgium on Monday in Seattle where a win would be — you guessed it — historic.

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Swanson: Justice for U.S. star Folarin Balogun, red card for VAR

Spain routs Austria while still working to reach World Cup champion form

Thursday’s World Cup results

Round of 32
Spain 3, Austria 0
Portugal 2, Croatia 1
Switzerland 2, Algeria 0

Today’s World Cup TV schedule

All times Pacific
Australia vs. Egypt, 11 a.m., Fox, Telemundo
Argentina vs. Cape Verde, 3 p.m., Fox, Telemundo
Colombia vs. Ghana, 6:30 p.m., Fox, Telemundo

World Cup round of 32 schedule, results

Round of 32 results
Canada 1, South Africa 0
Brazil 2, Japan 1
Paraguay 1, Germany 1 (Paraguay wins on PK’s, 4-3)
Morocco 1, Netherlands 1 (Morocco wins on PK’s, 3-2)
Norway 2, Ivory Coast 1
France 3, Sweden 0
Mexico 2, Ecuador 0
England 2, DR Congo 1
Belgium 3, Senegal 2
U.S. 2, Bosnia-Herzegovina 0
Spain 3, Austria 0
Portugal 2, Croatia 1
Switzerland 2, Algeria 0

All times Pacific
Friday
Australia vs. Egypt, 11 a.m., Fox, Telemundo
Argentina vs. Cape Verde, 3 p.m., Fox, Telemundo
Colombia vs. Ghana, 6:30 p.m., Fox, Telemundo

Round of 16 schedule

All times Pacific
All games on Fox and Telemundo

Saturday
Canada vs. Morocco, 10 a.m.
Paraguay vs. France, 2 p.m.

Sunday
Brazil vs. Norway, 1 p.m.,
Mexico vs. England, 5 p.m.

Monday
Portugal vs. Spain, noon
U.S. vs. Belgium, 5 p.m.

Tuesday, July 7
Argentina or Cape Verde vs. Australia or Egypt, 9 a.m.
Switzerland vs. Colombia or Ghana, 1 p.m.

Angels swept by Mariners

Bryce Miller took a no-hitter into the seventh inning and the Seattle Mariners edged the Angels 1-0 on Thursday night to finish a three-game sweep.

Cal Raleigh coaxed a bases-loaded walk from rookie starter Walbert Ureña with two outs in the sixth to force home the only run. Seattle stayed tied with the Texas Rangers for first place in the American League West at 45-43.

Andrés Muñoz pitched a shaky ninth for his 16th save. Muñoz gave up a leadoff walk and two singles but retired Wade Meckler on a grounder with two runners aboard to end it.

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Angels box score

MLB standings

Rams great LeRoy Irvin dies

From Chuck Schilken: LeRoy Irvin, a cornerback and special teams player who made two Pro Bowls with the Rams in the 1980s, has died, the team said Thursday. He was 68.

Irvin holds the Rams record for most non-offensive touchdowns (11, including five interception returns, four punt returns, one fumble recovery return and one blocked field goal return). He also is tied with Janoris Jenkins and Ed Meador for most pick-sixes in team history.

“We mourn the loss of Rams Legend LeRoy Irvin,” the team wrote on social media. “We extend our condolences to his family and friends during this difficult time.”

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This day in sports history

1920 — Suzanne Lenglen beats Dorothea Chambers a second straight year (6-3, 6-0) to win the women’s singles title at Wimbledon.

1925 — Suzanne Lenglen wins her sixth and final women’s singles title at Wimbledon, easily beating Joan Fry, 6-2, 6-0.

1931 — Max Schmeling knocks out Young Stribling at 2:46 of the 15th round to retain the world heavyweight title in Cleveland.

1951 — Sam Snead wins his third PGA Championship with a 7 and 6 victory over Walter Burkemo at Oakmont (Pa.) Country Club.

1976 — Bjorn Borg beats Ilie Nastase 6-4, 6-2, 9-7, to win his first men’s singles title at Wimbledon.

1981 — Wimbledon Women’s Tennis: Chris Evert beats Hana Mandlíková 6-2, 6-2 for her third and final Wimbledon singles title.

1982 — Martina Navratilova begins her streak of six straight singles titles at Wimbledon with a 6-1, 3-6, 6-2 victory over Chris Evert Lloyd. It’s the third Wimbledon singles title for Navratilova, all against Evert Lloyd.

1983 — Calvin Smith sets the 100-meter world record at Colorado Springs, with a run of 9.93 seconds. He breaks the previous record of 9.95 set by Jim Hines in 1968.

1983 — Wimbledon Men’s Tennis: American John McEnroe wins 5th career Grand Slam title; outclasses Chris Lewis of New Zealand 6-2, 6-2, 6-2.

1994 — FIFA World Cup: In a huge upset Romania eliminates Argentina 3-2 from the round of 16 at the Rose Bowl.

2004 — Maria Sharapova, 17, wins her first Grand Slam title and instant celebrity by beating Serena Williams 6-1, 6-4. For the first time since 1999, none of the four major titles is held by a Williams.

2005 — Roger Federer wins his third consecutive Wimbledon title by beating Andy Roddick 6-2, 7-6 (2), 6-4. Federer is the third man since 1936 to win three straight Wimbledon crowns, joining seven-time champion Pete Sampras and five-time winner Bjorn Borg.

2006 — Annika Sorenstam wins the U.S. Women’s Open after 10 years of frustration and wins her 10th major championship. Sorenstam, who shot a 1-under 70 in the 18-hole playoff, beats Pat Hurst by four strokes for the largest margin of victory in a playoff at the major since Kathy Cornelius won by seven shots 50 years ago.

2006 — Detroit Red Wings legend Steve Yzerman officially retires from the NHL, finishing with 692 goals and 1,755 points.

2007 — The Alinghi team from Switzerland — a country more often associated with Alpine skiing and winter snowscapes — successfully defends sailing’s coveted America’s Cup, beating Emirates Team New Zealand 5-2.

2010 — Serena Williams wins her fourth Wimbledon title and 13th Grand Slam championship by sweeping Vera Zvonareva in straight sets in the women’s final. Williams, who finishes the tournament without dropping a set, takes 67 minutes to win 6-3, 6-2.

2011 — Novak Djokovic wins his first Wimbledon, beating defending champion Rafael Nadal 6-4, 6-1, 1-6, 6-3. Djokovic, already guaranteed to take over the No. 1 ranking from the Spaniard on July 4, extends his mastery over Nadal this season with a fifth straight head-to-head victory.

2016 — Serena Williams overwhelms Annika Beck 6-3, 6-0 in just 51 minutes on Centre Court at Wimbledon, advancing to the fourth round with her 300th career Grand Slam match win.

2018 — Feliciano Lopez makes history just by taking to the court at Wimbledon. The 36-year-old Spaniard breaks Roger Federer’s record by appearing in a 66th consecutive Grand Slam singles tournament, continuing a run that started at the 2002 French Open. Lopez beats Federico Delbonis of Argentina 6-3, 6-4, 6-2.

Compiled by the Associated Press

This day in baseball history

1912 — Rube Marquard of the New York Giants raised his season record to 19-0 with a 2-1 victory over the Brooklyn Dodgers. His winning streak ended five days later against the Chicago Cubs.

1939 — Cleveland’s Ben Chapman ties the modern major-league record with three triples in a 4-2 win over the Detroit Tigers.

1939 — Johnny Mize of St. Louis hit two home runs, a triple and a double, leading the Cardinals to a 5-3 victory over the Chicago Cubs. Mize drove in three runs and scored three times.

1947 — The Cleveland Indians purchased the contract of Larry Doby from the Newark Eagles of the Negro National League, making him the first Black player in the American League.

1966 — Atlanta pitcher Tony Cloninger became the first National League player to hit two grand slams in one game. He added a single for nine RBIs in a 17-3 triumph over San Francisco.

1968 — Cleveland’s Luis Tiant struck out 19, walked none in a six-hit 1-0, 10-inning triumph over Minnesota.

1970 — The Angels’ Clyde Wright used only 98 pitches to no-hit the Oakland A’s 4-0 at Anaheim Stadium.

1973 — Jim Perry of the Detroit Tigers and brother Gaylord of the Cleveland Indians faced each other for the only time as opposing pitchers. Neither finished the game. Gaylord took the loss, 5-4.

2006 — Manager Felipe Alou picked up his 1,000th victory in San Francisco’s 9-6 win over Colorado.

2013 — Max Scherzer worked into the seventh inning to become the first pitcher in 27 years to get off to a 13-0 start, leading the Detroit Tigers to a 6-2 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays.

2016 — Stephen Strasburg was removed from a no-hit bid after 6 2/3 innings, and Ramon Cabrera singled against Matt Belisle leading off the eighth for Cincinnati’s first hit in the Washington Nationals’ 12-1 rout of the Reds. Strasburg (11-0) threw 109 pitches, five shy of his season high. Strasburg won a franchise-record 14 straight decisions and is the first NL starter to begin a season 11-0 since San Diego’s Andy Hawkins in 1985.

2016 — Wilmer Flores went 6 for 6 with two of New York’s five home runs, and the Mets romped to a 14-3 win and a four-game sweep of the Chicago Cubs. Jon Lester gave up eight runs and nine hits in 1 1/3 innings, the shortest of his 301 career starts over 11 major league seasons.

2016 — New York’s Mark Teixeira hit his 400th and 401st home runs and Chad Green got his first big league victory as the Yankees avoided a three-game sweep with a 6-3 win over San Diego.

2020 — Major League Baseball announces the cancellation of the 2020 All Star game in Dodger Stadium due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Compiled by the Associated Press

Until next time…

That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

SAN DIEGO — The home run that Roki Sasaki gave up to San Diego’s Ty France was more dramatic than the two walks he issued to open the inning. But it was the free passes that really hurt him.

In the Dodgers’ 7-1 loss to the Padres on Friday, Sasaki was out of the game before he could record an out in the fifth inning. He gave up only three hits but issued five walks, tying his season high, and hit a batter.

“I actually felt different than I ever felt before, mechanically,” Sasaki said through interpreter Kensuke Okubo, noting that his lower body felt a little off. “So I need to go over it and see what was really happening.”

Sasaki successfully pitched around traffic for much of his outing, other than the three-run homer to France in the second inning. But the inefficiency sent his pitch count past 80 before he exited with runners on first and second in the fifth.

“I’m not going to have it every time out, so that’s something I have to improve,” Sasaki said. “And also the game plan. I was able to execute some of the pitches, but some of the pitches I couldn’t, so that’s something I have to go through before next start.”

Earlier this month, when Sasaki held the Angels scoreless through seven two-hit innings, it seemed as if he’d had a breakthrough. But in three starts since, including a seven-run dud against the Chicago White Sox two weeks ago, he has yet to pitch through the sixth inning.

“I am a little surprised, because there was such good momentum going on,” manager Dave Roberts said. “Hopefully we can get him back to throwing the way he did in May.”

The Padres’ Walker Buehler walks off after holding his old team to one run for 5-1/3 innings Friday at Petco Park.

(Derrick Tuskan / Ap Photo/derrick Tuskan)

Sasaki’s command issues Friday showed up almost immediately. After striking out Padres leadoff hitter Fernando Tatis Jr., Sasaki walked Samad Taylor on 10 pitches. But Sasaki bounced back by inducing a double play.

The next inning, there would be no such escape. Sasaki walked both Manny Machado, whom he also battled for 10 pitches, and Gavin Sheets to open the frame. Then Xander Bogaerts’ sharp line drive to center field found leather.

France’s long fly ball to left field, however, found the seats.

Sasaki’s only clean inning, the third, was made possible by catcher Dalton Rushing’s successful challenge of a called ball four against Tatís, flipping a walk into a strikeout.

“I know that there’s confidence in there,” Roberts said. “But when you feel good and you don’t feel good mechanically and can’t execute pitches, then the results are walks, and 1-2 [count] homers, and things like that. But I do think that we can kind of tackle the mechanical things that he’s probably looking for right now.”

The Padres piled on in the eighth inning against reliever Jonathan Hernandez, as the sold-out crowd chanted “Beat L.A.!”

Mookie Betts hit a home run off former teammate Walker Buehler for his second homer in as many games. Betts seems to have come out of his offensive funk, entering Friday with a 1.061 on-base-plus-slugging percentage over the previous 11 games.

Buehler earned the win, delivering five strikeouts in 5⅓ innings.

“[Buehler] is reinventing himself,” Roberts said. “He’s throwing the kitchen sink at you. Cutter, slider, changeup, two-seamers. He doesn’t just try to bully you, and he’s finding ways to just get guys out. So yeah, he’s gonna still go up there and compete.”

The Dodgers went 0 for 4 with runners in scoring position and squandered a bases-loaded opportunity with one out in the sixth inning after chasing Buehler. Max Muncy popped out and Kyle Tucker, back in the lineup after exiting Monday’s game because of back spasms, flied out.

The Dodgers have built such a big lead in the division that the loss barely made a dent. The Padres, in second place, trail by eight games.

Freddie Freeman battled in the batter’s box.

No stranger to coming through in a big moment, the Dodgers star was hoping to see a fastball up in the zone from Angels reliever Kirby Yates.

So Freeman stayed patient, working his way into a full count.

Then Yates gave him what he wanted — and Freeman delivered the 20th walk-off hit of his career.

The Dodger Stadium crowd erupted in celebration as Freeman watched the ball soar over the right-center field wall in the ninth inning of a 1-0 victory over the Angels.

Freddie Freeman hits a walk-off home run for the Dodgers in a 1-0 win over the Angels at Dodger Stadium on Friday night.

Freeman grinned as he rounded the bases. He threw a thumbs up at his teammates before they swarmed him in celebration. He finally had given the Dodgers something to cheer for after being held to just two hits over 25 at-bats.

“I’ve been feeling good lately,” Freeman said. “I was tweaking things early on, just trying to find a consistent feel for things. Sometimes it’s just get a couple of hits, get confidence and get going. Nothing really crazy. It’s the same routine, hitting some soft line drives at the shortstop, and things have been working.”

Through most of the game, the excitement was contained to a pitcher’s duel — a chess game of defensive plays, waiting to see who flinched first.

Dodgers pitcher Roki Sasaki was red hot in what would tie for his longest outing of the season. Sasaki, for the first time this season, threw triple digits in back-to-back appearances, topping 100.6 mph. The Japanese pitcher threw all three of his pitches harder than his yearly average.

Freddie Freeman watches his walk-off home run clear the wall in right-center field to cap a 1-0 win over the Angels at Dodger Stadium on Friday night.

(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)

“I’ve been experiencing a lot of good and bad since 2024,” Sasaki said through interpreter Kensuke Okubo. “But I feel like I’m able to maintain this velocity. I think I’m confident about that, but I’m just keeping working on it to make sure I’m in a better place.”

With the speed uptick, Sasaki has also seen an inverse downtick in the earned runs column on his statline. His monthly ERA reached its zenith at 7.23 in his April starts, descending to its current 4.03 ERA.

In Sasaki’s best starts, the elevated velocity and pitch mix makes the right-hander lethal, giving him extended runway to pitch further into the game. Against the Angels (24-40), the elevated velocity allowed him to throw 4⅓ hitless innings in his career-high 11th appearance of the season. He pitched seven innings, giving up two hits and two walks while striking out 10.

It’s a return to how Sasaki looked when he played in Japan, manager Dave Roberts said. Confidence might be the clearest sign things are clicking. Sasaki thumped his chest after striking out Adam Fraizer in the fifth inning, a rare show of emotion.

“I certainly think we can all agree that the floor for Roki is much higher, and the expectation every time he takes the ball is high, and he’s earned that,” Roberts said. “If you look at the last six or seven stats, it’s been as good as any starter in the big leagues in the consistency of performance. So really proud of him and I know that he wants more, and the floor has just been raised.”

Dodgers pitcher Roki Sasaki delivers in the first inning of a 1-0 win over the Angels at Dodger Stadium on Friday night.

(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)

Some quick thinking from second baseman Miguel Rojas also helped preserve Sasaki’s strong start. On Nick Madrigal’s sharp line drive in the third inning, the pitcher reached for the ball and popped it up with the tip of his glove. The ball ricocheted off its intended course, but Rojas nabbed it with his bare hand, throwing it to first where a lunging Freeman caught it. The play was initially ruled as an infield single, but it was overturned on review.

“When it hits off a pitcher — you’re already going, committed to one way, then you gotta make another,” Freeman laughed. “The old guy’s still got it.”

Madrigal would break the Angels’ hitless run in the fifth with a double off the left-field wall. But, he was left stranded when Sasaki induced a groundout before his strikeout of Frazier.

The Dodgers (41-23) didn’t fare much better against Angels starter Reid Detmers. In the fourth, Freeman singled and moved to third on a forceout on Kyle Tucker. But, with two outs on the board, Will Smith struck out.

Andy Pages squandered a potential scoring opportunity when he was caught stealing in the sixth. The center fielder, who went one for four, has struggled at the plate in recent games. Against Arizona this week, Pages batted .176, collecting only three hits.

As the innings dragged, both the Dodgers and the Angels failed to find momentum. Reliever Chase Silseth took over in the seventh for Detmers, who gave up just two hits, walked two and struck out six. Silseth silenced the opposing batters, issuing only a walk to Smith.

Edgardo Henriquez took over in the eighth, striking out the first two batters he faced. Then, he hit Zach Neto with a pitch, and after Neto stole second, the Dodgers found themselves in a precarious position with Mike Trout at the plate. Not for long, though, as Henriquez struck out Trout.

Roberts, who had watched Rojas and Santiago Espinal go a combined 0 for 4, pinch-hit for both in the eighth. To a roaring applause, Max Muncy entered the batter’s box, his first plate appearance since a scary collision with the Arizona Diamondbacks’ Ildemaro Vargas on Thursday. Muncy, though, went down swinging.

Tanner Scott took the mound in the ninth a day after he gave up a walk-off home run to Arizona’s Ketel Marte. Jo Adell hit a one-out single then moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Donovan Walton. Roberts then put Blake Treinen into the game, and he got Oswald Peraza to ground out to first.

With Freeman’s sixth career walk-off home run, the Dodgers beat the Angels for the fourth consecutive time this season.

“Freddie just has aura,” Roberts said. “There’s not too many guys in baseball that you’d want in a game-winning situation, and Freddie does it once again.”

Angels second baseman Oswald Peraza walks back to the dugout after grounding out during the ninth inning against the Dodgers.

(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)

PHOENIX — The “Beat L.A.” chants at Chase Field rose and fell for the final four innings, sometimes spurred organically, at other times prompted by the immense videoboard looming above center field.

And as the Dodgers’ offense continued to sputter, the Diamondbacks surged with a trio of home runs, giving the fans exactly what they asked for Monday night.

“Overall, I thought we had some good at-bats and barreled up some balls,” Dodgers right fielder Kyle Tucker said after the 4-1 loss. “But they made some nice plays and we just weren’t able to get the runs across, so just kind of how it goes sometimes.”

Tucker was one of five Dodgers in the starting lineup who went hitless. Designated hitter Shohei Ohtani was the only Dodger with multiple hits (three). And a quiet offensive night for the Dodgers wasted a quality start from starter Emmett Sheehan.

Sheehan held the Diamondbacks (32-27) to two runs and three hits in 6⅓ innings, carrying forward a recent trend for the Dodgers’ rotation, which entered Monday with a National League-best 3.05 ERA.

“I think it’s probably the back half of the rotation,” manager Dave Roberts said before the game. “To see what [Justin Wrobleski’s] done, to see what Roki [Sasaki] has done, to see what Emmet’s done — I think for me we’ve raised the floor of the starting rotation. The top end guys are kind of who they are, which is great. But every night we have a really good chance to win because of the starting pitcher.”

Monday was another one of those nights. But the Dodgers’ offense didn’t hold up its half of the bargain.

Sheehan — like Wrobleski and Sasaki this week — benefited from an uptick in velocity. His fastball averaged 95.9 mph on Monday, a season high and 1.7 mph above his average.

“I think it’s honestly just trying to relax early, and throw harder later in my delivery,” Sheehan said. “Before I was getting a little too tense, and that’s something the coaches mentioned to me. And it’s a bunch of other things too, but we’ve been working hard on it.”

Sheehan’s velocity has fluctuated all season, which he and the team attributed to inconsistent mechanics.

Dodgers starting pitcher Emmet Sheehan delivers during the first inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday.

(Rick Scuteri / Associated Press)

“It’s definitely been a process,” pitching coach Mark Prior said last month about syncing Sheehan’s delivery. “And it’s been a grind for him. Because he feels like some days he has it, some innings he has it; and other innings he doesn’t. It’s been kind of a roller coaster for him. It’s just part of the game.”

At times, his lower half was opening too quickly, throwing off the way his legs worked with his upper half. But on the days his timing was in sync, his velocity would often tick up, and everything would fall into place.

On Monday he was nearly perfect through the first 5⅓ innings, with the exception of Corbin Carroll’s first-inning double. He’d induced plenty of soft contact, plus three strikeouts, all in the first two innings. All three were put away with sliders.

“I thought he was really good — certainly deserved better,” Roberts said. “The fastball was good, slider was good, used the curveball, minimized hits.”

Then with one out in the sixth, Sheehan tried to work back from a first-pitch ball with a fastball up to Diamondbacks rookie Tommy Troy. The No. 9 hitter roped it beyond left field for his first major league home run.

After the Arizona lineup turned over and Sheehan retired Ketel Marte and Carroll to get out of the inning, Roberts stuck with the right-hander against switch-hitting Geraldo Perdomo and right-handed Nolan Arenado in the seventh.

With one out, Sheehan hung a slider to Arenado, who put the Diamondbacks up with a solo blast. And that would spell the end of Sheehan’s strong outing.

Reliever Jack Dreyer, making his first appearance since being activated off the 15-day injured list (left shoulder discomfort), gave up a two-run homer to Marte in the eighth inning to round out the Diamondbacks’ scoring.

The Dodgers’ offense managed just five hits against Diamondbacks starter Eduardo Rodriguez, and were robbed of two by center fielder Jorge Barrosa, who made diving catches on line drives hit by Will Smith and Andy Pages.

“He made some nice plays out there for them,” Tucker said. “We did all we could really do. Once the ball leaves the bat, it’s out of our hands. So we had some good swings, good at-bats, it just didn’t go our way sometimes.”

The Dodgers eked across a run in the third on a Freddie Freeman groundout with runners on second and third. And the Arizona bullpen faced the minimum over the final three innings.

Philadelphia’s Edmundo Sosa sauntered out of the box, motioning with one hand in a pump-wave in front of 51,794 Dodgers fans. The left fielder, who had taken over for Brandon Marsh in the top of the sixth, connected on a four-seam fastball that Dodgers reliever Tanner Scott left too far over the plate for a two-run home run that put the Phillies ahead.

The Dodgers had been playing with fire all night, but they couldn’t regain momentum after Scott’s struggles, losing to the Phillies 4-3 to set up a Sunday series rubber match.

The Dodgers (37-21) started strong, with pitcher Roki Sasaki giving up just three hits and one earned run over 5⅓ innings.

Sasaki’s elevated velocity posed early concerns for the Dodgers as he struggled more with his command. The right-hander crossed the 100-mph threshold for the first time this season on two pitches: a 100.4mph four-seam to J.T. Realmuto and another fastball, this time 100.1mph, to Kyle Schwarber.

Three of his four pitches — the four-seam, slider and splitter — averaged at least 1.2 mph faster than his yearly average. As a result, he struggled with location. Neither his slider and splitter hit the zone more than 45% of the time. Even his fastball hit the strike zone a mere 55%.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts warned about this scenario when Sasaki’s fastball had only reached an upper limit of 99.5 mph.

“I think now the velo is certainly in a good spot,” Roberts said before the game. “I do believe that if he wanted to throw 100 miles an hour, he could do that, but it wouldn’t be where he needed to throw it.”

Dodgers starting pitcher Roki Sasaki delivers during the first inning Saturday against the Phillies.

(Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)

Still, the Phillies (30-28) struggled to generate consistent momentum despite Sasaki’s location problems. Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm hammered a four-seam fastball that skimmed the top of the strike zone over the center field wall. The rest of the Phillies lineup ended most of their at-bats with little luck, striking out seven times and walking only once.

Roberts pulled Sasaki with runners on first and second in the sixth. Left-hander Alex Vesia walked Bryce Harper but escaped a one-out, bases-loaded jam by striking out Sosa and forcing Alec Bohm into a ground out to third.

By then, the Dodgers had already established a lead. Alex Call put them on the board in the second on a poked single through the gap between second and short. In the fourth, Call reached third on a double and throwing error from Adolis García. Santiago Espinal hit a sacrifice fly to deep center field, driving in Call.

Mookie Betts also found his footing after he went 0 for 3 on Friday. The shortstop struggled in the first four games of the Dodgers’ homestand, batting .200 across 15 plate appearances. Against the Phillies on Saturday night, Betts laced two singles and a double.

Andy Pages scored on a close play at the plate after Betts singled to shallow right field in the seventh. Although catcher J.T. Realmuto missed tagging Pages’ foot, the Dodgers center fielder’s cleat didn’t appear to touch the plate. After a long review, the safe at home call stood.

But the Dodgers’ good fortune didn’t last. Scott gave up an RBI single to Bryce Harper, and it was like the Phillies could sense exactly when the reliever’s pitches crossed over the zone. Scott (1-2) then gave up the home run to Soto before going down in order on three groundouts in the ninth.

MILWAUKEE — Teoscar Hernández backpedaled up the line as he watched the flight of his deep fly ball down the left-field line.

It clanged off the left-field foul pole to give the Dodgers the lead for the first time in a game they’d win 11-3.

“It was big,” Hernández said after going three for four with six RBIs, tying a career high. “We took the lead, and that was the best thing. We put less pressure on [starter Roki] Sasaki, so he could keep pitching the way he was pitching after the first inning. So it was a great [fourth] inning.”

The Dodgers’ offense, led by Hernández, came alive after a quiet first game of the series.

His heroics in the comeback victory — which also included a record-setting performance from the bullpen — were a high point in his offensive turnaround the last two weeks.

“I just think that he’s heightened his focus,” manager Dave Roberts said. “I think that his at-bat quality has been considerably better. I don’t think he’s wasting at-bats.

“For me personally, early on, I think that there was a couple of at-bats per night that he was just giving away. And now the last eight days, something like that, I don’t see him giving away any at-bats. And the production has reflected that.”

Hernández’ first hit of the game was made all the more dramatic by the rut the Dodgers started in.

Dodgers pitcher Roki Sasaki throws during the first inning of a win over the Brewers on Saturday in Milwaukee.

(Jeffrey Phelps / Ap Photo/jeffrey Phelps)

Sasaki, coming off his best start of his MLB career against the Angels last week, ran into trouble right away against the Brewers.

Six pitches in, he’d already given up back-to-back doubles en route to the first run. To make matters worse, his own error extended the inning. He got the Brewers’ Andrew Vaughn to chase a low splitter for a swinging bunt up the third-base line. Sasaki barehanded it cleanly but threw behind Vaughn. As the ball caromed off the retaining wall in foul territory, another run scored.

A fielder’s choice and a walk later, pitching coach Mark Prior strode out of the dugout for a mound visit. The Brewers played “Message in a Bottle” over the loudspeakers.

Sasaki answered his own SOS, with some help from his defense. He struck out Jake Bauers. And then in a 2-2 count to Sal Frelick, Sasaki threw a fastball up and out of the zone. Frelick got on top of it to line a single off the end of shortstop Mookie Betts’ glove as he leaped after it.

The single drove in a third run, but center fielder Andy Pages scooped up the ball and caught Gary Sánchez trying to go from first to third on the play, ending the inning.

Then Sasaki held the Brewers scoreless for the next four innings, retiring 10 straight as he bided time for the offense to make up the deficit.

The Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman slides safely past the Brewers’ Gary Sánchez to score a run during the eighth inning Saturday in Milwaukee.

(Patrick McDermott / Getty Images)

“It seemed a little like Groundhog Day that first inning, how it started,” Roberts said. “But for Roki to find a way to get out of it with three runs, and then settle in, settle down — his stuff got better in the third, fourth and fifth innings, and I told him that. Young pitchers, to understand that even if you get hit in the mouth early, you gotta find a way to keep going, so you don’t blow up your bullpen.”

Freddie Freeman got the Dodgers’ fourth-inning rally started with a leadoff double. Then Pages drove him in by roping his own double into the left-field corner, trimming the Brewers’ lead to two runs.

When Kyle Tucker drew a one-out walk, he gave Hernández the chance to put the Dodgers ahead with one swing. He took it.

“I’m just hitting the ball in the air, hitting it hard,” Hernández said. “That’s what you want as a hitter, and I think that’s what’s been the difference between the last two weeks [versus] the weeks before.”

He entered Saturday with a 1.001 OPS since the beginning of last homestand, compared to a .667 OPS up to that point.

Going into a three-city road trip last week, Hernández said refusing to dwell on poor results, especially in big situations, had been key.

“It was more like getting confidence and getting to trust myself again,” Hernández said. “And then just go out there and trust my swing, trust the work, and just trying to select better pitches to hit.”

In addition to coming up in the big situation, Hernández also contributed to the Dodgers’ late rallies, as they batting through the order in both the eighth and ninth innings to tack on seven runs.

The Dodgers’ bullpen shut down the Brewers for four innings. The performance from Alex Vesia, Kyle Hurt, Tanner Scott and Jonathan Hernández extended the bullpen’s scoreless streak to 36 consecutive innings, eclipsing the Dodgers’ previous record of 33 innings in 1998.

“The biggest thing is that they’re attacking in the hitters, they’re pounding in the strike zone, and when they need a pitch for a double play, they executed really well,” Teoscar Hernández said. “In ‘24 they helped us a lot, ‘25 too, and this year is not going to be different. They’re built for this, and they’re ready for it.”

Injury update

Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy’s right wrist was sore Saturday, as expected after he was hit by a 95.5-mph sinker the night before.

“We’re going to kind of give him a rest day to try to get that swelling out, and then see where he’s at [Sunday],” Roberts said. “And like I said, he’ll be down for the weekend, and then we’ll kind of see where we get to on Monday.”

Depending on how he’s recovering, the Dodgers could send Muncy to get a CT scan when they’re back in Los Angeles.

Dodgers utility player Kiké Hernández (left elbow surgery recovery) is expected to join the team Monday in Los Angeles. Roberts plans to write him into the starting lineup when Rockies left-hander Kyle Freeland starts against the Dodgers.

Taylor returns

A day after word spread former Dodger Chris Taylor had opted to retire, he reportedly changed his mind and joined the Minor League Baseball injury list with a left forearm fracture.

ST. LOUIS — Time is running out for the pitchers at the back end of the Dodgers’ rotation to prove that they should stay once left-hander Blake Snell returns from the injured list.

Right-hander Roki Sasaki strengthened his case Saturday with a quality start, despite some hiccups, as the Dodgers fell 3-2 to the Cardinals, extending their losing streak to four games.

Sasaki not only recorded an out in the sixth inning for the first season, but finished the inning to tie the deepest start of his MLB career, as he limited the Cardinals to three runs and five hits.

It wasn’t all smooth sailing. Sasaki labored early. But despite issuing two walks and hitting a batter in the first two innings, he escaped both unscathed.

No such luck in the third. Sasaki gave up back-to-back doubles to Iván Herrera and Alec Burleson, and a home run to Jordan Walker — who’s been swinging the hottest bat of any hitter this series — for a quick three runs.

Sasaki rebounded to throw three perfect innings to finish his outing.

The Dodgers’ offense, however, didn’t score until the ninth inning. Kyle Tucker and Teoscar Hernández hit back-to-back infield singles, testing Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn’s range to both sides.

Then Max Muncy shot an RBI single over the head of second baseman JJ Wetherholt. And Andy Pages drove in another run with a ground ball just past the glove of diving third baseman Ramón Urías. but their late rally stalled there.

The star-studded Dodgers lineup hasn’t scored more than two runs in a game since Monday.

Sasaki is one of three young pitchers at the back end of the rotation, along with right-hander Emmet Sheehan and left-hander Justin Wrobleski, who are competing for two spots once Snell returns.

Snell (left shoulder fatigue) is scheduled to make his third minor-league rehab start on Sunday for triple-A Oklahoma City. He’ll likely need at least a fourth before returning, manager Dave Roberts said Friday.

Sheehan gave up four runs in 4 2/3 innings Friday, his velocity wavering as his delivery fell out of sync.

Wrobleski is scheduled to start Sunday, as the Dodgers try to avoid a three-game sweep. He’s pitched the best out of all three pitchers, but his proven ability as a long reliever as well could actually work against him as the Dodgers decide how to free up a spot in the rotation.