yoshinobu yamamoto

Those who were at Dodger Stadium on a gorgeous Friday night seemed to be in for an all-nighter.

They have Tommy Edman to thank for getting home a bit earlier.

With two outs in the 10th, Kiké Hernández on third and Kyle Tucker on first, the second baseman hit a walk-off single against Pittsburgh Pirates reliever Gregory Soto, earning the Dodgers a 5-4 win.

“Yeah, it feels great,” Edman said. “We’ve kind of been struggling a little bit in those clutch situations, myself included, so it felt really good to come through.”

Edman entered the at-bat 0 for 3 and was seemingly on the verge of keeping the 200-minute game alive in an unfavorable way.

Soto, however, threw the same low-middle sweeper that Edman fouled off one pitch earlier, and the second baseman jumped on it the second time around, propelling the Dodgers (78-51) to four consecutive wins for the first time since late July.

“That’s something I really try to take pride in — leaving past at-bats behind me — and I think I’ve done a good job of that this year,” Edman said. “I think that’s something we do really well overall as a group, and that leads to coming through in big situations like that, putting past at-bats behind you.

“One of the best feelings after grinding for 10 innings,” he added. “We had a bunch of pitchers do a really good job today.”

However, the victory was tempered by the loss of center fielder Andy Pages, who was struck in the left hand with a Bubba Chandler pitch in the third inning. Manager Dave Roberts said X-rays showed a fracture and Pages is expected to be out at least four weeks.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto helped make sure the loss of Pages was not in vain.

The right-hander brought the urgency to the mound that the Dodgers were missing during an abysmal 5-11 stretch that ended with a sweep against the Colorado Rockies this week.

“I personally felt like today’s game is very important,” Yamamoto said. “We’re gonna have [Tarik] Skubal starting [Saturday], and I just wanted to maintain the momentum, which started in Colorado.”

Yamamoto surrendered two runs — both via singles from Pirates designated hitter Nick Gonzales — on five hits over 6⅓ innings, striking out nine and walking one.

“My stuff was pretty good today,” Yamamoto said. “I was feeling pretty good out there. So even after letting runners on the bases, I just tried to focus and then take it one hitter at a time.”

Chandler, meanwhile, exited after four innings. Max Muncy hit a two-run homer in the first, and Mookie Betts contributed a two-run single in the third.

The Dodgers, with a 4-2 lead, cruised into the eighth. But Kyle Hurt gave up a tying two-run homer to Oneil Cruz.

Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto delivers against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the second inning Friday night.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Matters looked grim for the Dodgers in the 10th when Evan Phillips found himself in a one-out, bases-loaded jam.

All was well, though, once Phillips got Henry Davis to ground into an inning-ending, 6-4-3 double play.

“That was great,” Roberts said of Phillips. “I know that he’s trying to kind of build as we’re going through this, and [it] hasn’t been smooth sailing for him and the success that he’s used to. But this is a big one. Big confidence builder for him … to strand those two runners was a big outing for him.”

Edman took care of the rest.

And for maybe the first time in weeks, the Dodgers appear to be inching back to their champion ways.

“I think our guys are kind of reinterested, you know, collectively,” Roberts said before the game. “So, that’s a good thing.”

Andy Pages sustains hand fracture

Dodgers center fielder Andy Pages gets hit by a pitch during the third inning against the Pirates on Friday night.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Roberts said Pages sustained a fracture on the back of his left hand when he was hit by the 100-mph pitch It’s unclear if he will need surgery.

“Well, it’s just really unfortunate, obviously,” Roberts said. “It’s not season-ending. … So, I would expect him back, knowing him, on the earlier side. … I feel for him because he’s having such a good year.”

Roberts said Edman is an option to fill in for Pages in center field.

In a more positive development, Will Smith faced live pitching for the first time since June, and Roberts said that the plan is to activate the catcher during the first week of September.

“Today was a good day for Will,” Roberts said. “Taking at-bats. He’ll catch a couple bullpens today. He’ll do a couple more lives. … He still needs to get his legs back under him before we feel confident that he can take down a major league game and feel good coming out of it.”

Roberts added that Smith is “gonna play in the postseason” and that there is enough time for him to reach 100% strength.

Tyler Glasnow will likely be activated during the Dodgers’ upcoming trip to Atlanta.

“I just saw him. He had a great outing — his last rehab outing,” Roberts said. “I’m not sure which day we’re gonna pencil him in against the Braves, but if all of the things check out, it’ll be that [series].”

Ohtani will return to the mound at some point this season.

“It’s gonna happen,” Roberts said. “[Ohtani] threw another bullpen. … I think that there’s going to be a live or two, and then he’ll be on the mound. I just don’t know when we’re going to do that with the scheduling.”

Dalton Rushing is “pain-free” and close to facing live pitching, according to Roberts, but the catcher is “unlikely” to return to catching this season.

“I hope I’m wrong,” Roberts said. “But he’s determined to go through the process, the progression, the build-up and get back. And we’ll see where we’re at.”

Roberts didn’t rule out the possibility of Rushing being activated as a designated hitter down the line.

The Dodgers just can’t have some peace and calm, can they? Now, an owner is getting in on the fun with some controversy.

The Dodgers’ 9-2 loss to the Diamondbacks on Saturday wasn’t enough to prevent them from going into the All-Star break with the best record in the majors — that much is ensured. But the uninspired all-around performance sealed a series loss on the final weekend of the season’s first half.

The Dodgers (61-35) put little pressure on the Diamondbacks pitching staff. And Dodgers starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto wrapped up his first-half campaign with his highest-scoring start of the season; he surrendered six runs in six innings.

Over the All-Star break, Yamamoto (2.85 ERA) will get the week to rest. Before the game Saturday, manager Dave Roberts confirmed Yamamoto, an All-Star for the second consecutive year, will not pitch in the game.

The timing of his start Saturday, three days before the Midsummer Classic, suggested as much. Shohei Ohtani is scheduled to have his left knee drained coming out of the All-Star break and will not travel to Philadelphia. So Justin Wrobleski, who was added to the National League roster Saturday, is the only Dodger set to pitch in the All-Star Game.

Yamamoto held the Diamondbacks to one run through the first five innings. But his final inning quickly unraveled. It started with a leadoff walk and peaked with a three-run home run from James McCann.

The Dodgers finally rallied for two runs in the sixth and then fell quiet again. The Diamondbacks then scored three runs against Landon Knack in his three-inning season debut coming off the injured list.

Yamamoto’s uncharacteristic sixth inning ended his streak of quality starts at five, including two that lasted eight innings or more. He leads the team with 110⅔ innings pitched.

“His delivery is so consistent, repeatable,” Roberts said before the game. “He uses his body so efficiently. I just see how he takes care of himself, and the tax wasn’t going to be a problem for him.”

Yamamoto’s workload, along with Wrobleski’s emergence, have helped the Dodgers weather injuries to pitchers who were expected to be major contributors.

In a promising sign for closer Edwin Díaz’s recovery timeline, he started a rehab assignment with single-A Ontario on Saturday. Díaz made just seven appearances for the Dodgers before undergoing an operation to remove loose bodies from his right elbow in late April.

“He’s been throwing pretty effortlessly, free, maybe a week after he started throwing,” pitching coach Mark Prior said.

He estimated that Díaz would return in about three to four weeks if his progression goes smoothly.

Blake Snell — who also had loose bodies removed from his pitching elbow, undergoing a NanoNeedle Scope procedure on May 19 — threw two simulated innings to batters Saturday.

Snell is scheduled to begin a minor-league rehab assignment next weekend, Roberts said. Prior believes Snell will need at least four to five outings, likening it to a spring training buildup.

“The goal would be to get him fully built up to 90ish pitches before he comes back,” Prior said.

Tyler Glasnow, who had been sidelined for more than two months with a lingering back injury, threw a bullpen session Friday.

“It was like 95, 96 [mph] in his ‘pen, but he does that rolling out of bed when he’s healthy,” Prior said. “But it’s a good sign.”

Glasnow has had plenty of back and forth in his rehab, however. Twice he started playing catch only to be shut down when back spasms returned.

“The schedule is starting to move with a little bit more consistency than it had been,” Prior said. “So he’s in a good spot.”

Glasnow is scheduled for another bullpen session on Monday.

Dodgers center fielder Andy Pages had been hearing from teammates for weeks that he would be selected as an All-Star. But he wasn’t as bullish.

“I wanted to participate, but that wasn’t in my control. I didn’t want to put it out there until I knew it was for sure,” Pages said in Spanish.

On Saturday it became official. Pages was selected as an All-Star for the first time. After coming so close in 2025, he’s set to start for the National League.

“It’s exciting to be able to participate in my first one,” Pages said before the Dodgers’ 3-0 win over the San Diego Padres at Dodger Stadium. “I’m really proud of the work that I’ve been doing and to have the opportunity.”

Pages is one of five Dodgers on the National League squad. Third baseman Max Muncy (third All-Star selection), first baseman Freddie Freeman (10th) and Yoshinobu Yamamoto (second) were named to the NL roster Saturday. Shohei Ohtani (sixth) was named an All-Star on June 25 after leading the majors in Phase 1 voting.

“It should be [Pages’] second,” Freeman said. “I think he should have had it last year. Andy has been great for a couple years now. So I’m glad he’s getting the recognition. I’m glad the fans are gonna get to see him in Philadelphia.”

It marks the first time since 1980 that the Dodgers have had four All-Star starters. Their five All-Star selections ties the Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies for the most in the majors.

Muncy is set to be the first Dodger to start the All-Star Game at third base since Ron Cey in 1977.

Though Dodgers pitcher Justin Wrobleski (10-2, 2.80 ERA) was not named an All-Star, he could play as a possible injury replacement.

The All-Star Game will be played July 14 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.

Fittingly, on Saturday, Yamamoto took the mound against the Padres and threw seven shutout innings.

Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto raises his arms while walking back to the dugout in the seventh inning after striking out 10 in a 3-0 win over the San Diego Padres on Saturday night at Dodger Stadium.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

“He looked like an All-Star,” Roberts said. “He came out with a purpose. You could see the intent tonight, execution, really good from pitch one. And gave his chance to really reset the bullpen and gave us length.”

Once he settled in, he got even better. After giving up three singles in the first two innings, Yamamoto (2.49 ERA) didn’t surrender another hit. He tied a bow on the performance, ending it with his 10th strikeout.

“It’s such an honor to be selected for the All-Star team,” Yamamoto said through interpreter Yoshihiro Sonoda. “I was there last year and this year I feel it is even more meaningful.”

He got run support and defensive backing from his fellow All-Stars.

Andy Pages hits a run-scoring single in the third inning of a 3-0 win over the San Diego Padres at Dodger Stadium on Saturday night.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Pages drove in the first run in the third inning. With runners on second and third, in a 1-2 count, Pages extended to the outside edge of the plate to get around a slider and send it through the left side of the infield. The Dodgers took a 1-0 lead.

Muncy flashed the leather with a backhanded pick up the third-base line in the fifth inning.

Freeman hit a solo homer in the sixth — a moon shot that sailed higher than the fireworks going off in the neighborhoods around Dodger Stadium. Two innings later, he roped an RBI single up the middle.

The Dodgers claimed a series win in the four-game home set against their division rival, with the chance to sweep Sunday. They’ve won seven of nine games against the Padres this season.

Ohtani feeling better

Dodgers pitcher Shohei Ohtani pumps his fist after getting San Diego’s Manny Machado to ground out in the fifth inning Friday.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Ohtani was feeling “considerably better” Saturday, after leaving Friday’s game in the seventh inning with tight right biceps.

“If things trend the way we would expect, then he’ll be in there [Sunday],” Roberts said.

Ohtani didn’t play Saturday. But Roberts confirmed after the game that he expects Ohtani to be back Sunday. Roberts didn’t expect the biceps problem to affect Ohtani’s throwing schedule between pitching starts, especially because he aggravated it on a swing.

The Dodgers, however, could still decide to have Ohtani skip his last pitching start before the All-Star break.

“The first step is how he feels tomorrow, and then the days forthcoming,” Roberts said. “So we don’t need to make that decision today, tomorrow, the next day. So we have time. And I think for us it’s just more of reading and reacting on how he feels.”

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.”

The chasm between the Freeway Series rivals was on display in the Dodgers’ 9-2 win against the Angels at Dodger Stadium on Saturday night.

The bottom of the first inning took so long that Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto resorted to throwing a ball against the back of the dugout to stay warm.

The one-run lead the Angels (24-41) had jumped out to in the top of the inning — when a leaping center fielder Andy Pages couldn’t quite reel in Oswald Peraza’s deep line drive for an RBI triple — was long forgotten after the Dodgers rallied for nine runs in the first.

Andy Pages celebrates with teammates in the dugout after hitting a two-run home run as part of a nine-run first inning for the Dodgers.

(Ronaldo Bolaños / Los Angeles Times)

It was the most runs the Dodgers scored in a single inning in nearly five years, matching their seventh-inning rally against the Nationals on July 2, 2021.

The Dodgers (42-23) helped themselves with a show of power. Pages drove in the first two runs by crushing a center-cut changeup from Angels starting pitcher Jack Kochanowicz over the left-field wall.

Judging by his stroll out of the batter’s box, Pages seemed to know it was a homer on contact.

The ball had so much loft that reliever Blake Treinen parked under it in the bullpen and caught it with his hat. His fellow relievers mobbed him in an impromptu mosh pit.

Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto delivers against the Angels in the first inning Saturday at Dodger Stadium.

(Ronaldo Bolaños / Los Angeles Times)

Later in the same inning, after the lineup turned over, Shohei Ohtani also notched a two-run homer, for his second hit. In between, rookie Ryan Ward hit a two-run double off the wall.

The Dodgers brought 12 batters to the plate and recorded six hits in a row — seven total.

The Angels’ shoddy defense exacerbated the scoring spree. They had a chance to get out of it just four runs into the rally.

Kochanowicz had faced eight hitters and only recorded one out when Angels manager Kurt Suzuki turned to his bullpen.

Veteran left-hander Brent Suter jogged in with the bases loaded. Immediately, Suter got Alex Freeland to hit a ground ball to shortstop Zach Neto, for what should have been an inning-ending double play.

Instead, Neto’s throw across his body sailed past second and into foul territory on the other side of the diamond. By the time Angels right fielder Jo Adell collected the ball and threw to the cutoff man, three runs were scored.

Rams defensive end Myles Garrett throws out the ceremonial first pitch Saturday at Dodger Stadium.

(Ronaldo Bolaños / Los Angeles Times)

Ohtani was up next. And in a two-strike count, he stayed inside a sinker to launch his two-run blast to left-center field.

The Angels’ defense didn’t fare much better in the second, although Suter navigated a pair of misplays — Neto muffed a one-hopper up the middle, which was ruled a single, and third baseman Donovan Walton overthrew first on a chopper — to escape without the Dodgers extending their lead.

Yamamoto retired 22 straight en route to eight innings of two-hit ball.

By mid-game, both teams were putting in replacements. The Angels had time to chip away, but they didn’t score again until Neto’s solo homer off Dodgers reliever Jack Dreyer in the ninth inning.

The contrast was glaring.

Smith scratched

Dodgers catcher Will Smith was scratched from the lineup because of a stiff neck, manager Dave Roberts said. The issue “came out of nowhere,” Roberts said, pointing to a “bad night’s sleep or a bad pillow.”

“He was going to play two out of three [against the Angels] regardless,” Roberts said. “So it’s nice that we could kind of tap Dalton [Rushing] on the shoulder and get him in there.”

Roberts said he expects Smith will return to the lineup Sunday.

Injury update

Right-handed reliever Brock Stewart (left foot bone spur) is progressing after a setback a week and a half ago stymied his throwing progression.

The last time Stewart threw live batting practice, he aggravated the injury by running afterward. But throwing to hitters Saturday went better. He’s scheduled to throw one more live BP session before going out on a minor-league rehab assignment, Roberts said.

Roster moves

The Dodgers added right-hander Nick Frasso to the 40-man roster and transferred right-hander Tyler Glasnow (back spasms) to the 60-day injured list.

The team originally expected Glasnow to avoid the IL altogether, but his back issues have persisted. He remains shut down from throwing after a flare-up.

“He wants to get cranking again,” Roberts said, “but the doctors just aren’t allowing it and the body is not allowing for it right now.”

The Dodgers also traded left-hander Antoine Kelly, whom they signed to a minor-league deal in November to the Cubs.