Dodgers swept by Diamondbacks as they sputter into the All-Star break

Maddie Lee, Los Angeles Times on Jul 12, 2026

Published in Baseball

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LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Dodgers needed to turn things around Sunday to wrap up the unofficial first half on a high note. Manager Dave Roberts said as much the night before.

“When you give teams free bases, extra outs, it’s hard to win a game, regardless of the opponent,” he said. “ Emmet [Sheehan] needs to go out there and throw the baseball well tomorrow. We’ve got to find a way to win a game tomorrow to feel somewhat better about going into the [All-Star] break.”

Instead, the Dodgers fell to the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-3, swept in a series for the first time this season. It was Arizona’s first sweep at Dodger Stadium since September 2017.

Sheehan at least did his job, holding the Diamondbacks to two runs in 5 1/3 innings.

It was clear from the first at-bat that pitch count could limit how deep he pitched. Sheehan won a 14-pitch battle to strike out Ketel Marte.

The right-hander then struck out the side and was efficient enough to throw into the sixth. He exited after his pitch count reached 101.

Shohei Ohtani sparked the offense with his ninth leadoff home run of the season — his 22nd overall — on a two-hit day.

It wasn’t a clean defensive game for the Dodgers. In the midst of the Diamondbacks’ two-run fifth, All-Star center fielder Andy Pages tracked a long fly back to the wall but missed the catch as the ball bounced off his glove.

In the sixth, the tying run scored when All-Star third baseman Max Muncy’s throw to the plate hit Geraldo Perdomo in the back as he ran home.

Regardless of some of the sloppiness, the Dodgers have had a successful season going into the break.

They have the best record in the majors (61-36) and a 11 1/2-game lead in the NL West. They also had six players selected as All-Stars.

So, as Major League Baseball pauses play and honors some of the best first-half performers in each league, now’s a good time to hand out our own first-half awards.

MVP: Shohei Ohtani

Who else? Ohtani’s the frontrunner for the National League MVP — not just these unofficial first-half awards — for his two-way performance.

He’s been a top performer both on the mound and in the batter’s box. He entered Sunday among the top three in the National League in offensive fWAR (26.6) and OPS (.940). And his 1.79 ERA ranked second among NL pitchers who have thrown at least 50 innings. He remains in the Cy Young conversation, despite only pitching 85 2/3 innings in the first half, due to the Dodgers’ six-man rotation and a missed start for an irritated left knee.

Honorable mention: Freddie Freeman, Max Muncy

Cy Young: Yoshinobu Yamamoto

Yamamoto has carried this rotation through both performance (2.85 ERA) and workload, leading the team with 110 2/3 innings.

Last month, he carried a perfect game bid into the eighth inning and no-hitter into the ninth against the Chicago White Sox. That was one of two starts of at least eight innings that he’s authored. He’s thrown six or more innings in all but two of his starts.

Honorable mention: Shohei Ohtani, Justin Wrobleski

Most improved: Justin Wrobleski

This time last year, Wrobleski was moving back and forth between triple-A and the majors, providing length out of the bullpen after making changes to his delivery.

Coming into this season, a regular rotation spot was not guaranteed. Now, he’s an All-Star. And in a star-powered rotation, he has the second-best ERA (2.69) and has pitched the second-most innings (100 1/3).

Honorable mention: Tanner Scott, Dalton Rushing, Andy Pages

Second-half breakout candidate: Kiké Hernández

Hernández has only been on the field for four plate appearances, exiting with a strained left oblique in just his second game back from offseason surgery on his left elbow. But he recorded a hit in each of those plate appearances, including a pair of doubles.

Hernández, on the verge of a rehab assignment, is on a faster track to return than Roberts initially expected.

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