​Last night we pulled off an unexpectedly emphatic win against the Dodgers on their home turf, a victory that felt unlikely from the jump. The night was largely shaped by Tim Tawa’s breakout and the contrast in how the two starting pitchers performed. Brandon Pfaadt had a rough cycle through Reno before, and though his two most recent starts since returning have been solid, they came against the Giants and the Padres—teams that, while competent, aren’t exactly renowned for presenting the fiercest challenges in this stage of the season. The Dodgers, meanwhile, boasted the league’s best record and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who had arguably earned a spot on the National League All-Star roster this year. Given all of that, my expectations were not high—not going to pretend otherwise.
But I could not have been more wrong. The evening didn’t start in our favor—Yamamoto sliced through the top of our order in the first inning, retiring Ketel Marte, Geraldo Perdomo, and Corbin Carroll with just ten pitches. Yet Pfaadt was ready to respond for the bottom of the frame, and he needed only five pitches to retire Shohei Ohtani, Andy Pages, and Freddie Freeman. Not a bad start at all.
From there, the pattern held through five innings: Pfaadt was outpitching and outperforming the 2025 World Series MVP, while our hitters started to ride longer, more patient at-bats against Yamamoto and the Dodgers’ lineup failed to do the same against Pfaadt. Tim Tawa notched the Diamondbacks’ first hit with two outs in the second, lacing a fly ball to center. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to capitalize, as he was picked off at first base before Yamamoto delivered another pitch—a moment awkward in its own right but hardly defining. Still, it did break the ice, and we began to wear down Yamamoto’s pitch count from that point forward.
The game’s momentum continued to tilt in our favor as the offense took the baton. In the top of the third, James McCann reached on an error by Max Muncy after Muncy’s throwing miscue on a potential double play, and Tommy Troy drew a six-pitch walk. Those mini-advances helped us manufacture chances, though Marte popped out to third and Perdomo lined out to left after a lengthy at-bat, failing to push the score further in that frame. Nevertheless, we had Yamamoto dialing up more pitches as the inning wore on—25 in that frame alone—creating opportunities to seize control.
Pfaadt remained cruising through the Dodgers’ order through the second and third innings, retiring them in order and carrying the momentum into his first full run through their lineup with just 27 pitches for nine outs. It was a statement stretch, and the momentum the Diamondbacks were gaining grew more tangible.
A key turning point came in the top of the fourth. Gabriel Moreno worked a six-pitch walk with one out, then advanced to third on a Max Kepler grounder that found a seam in the infield and rolled into right field for a single. Tim Tawa contributed again, grounding out to third on a play that Max Muncy made look spectacular, yet Moreno was already sliding home on contact. Muncy’s strong throw to first just nabbed Tawa, but Moreno scampered home to give the D-backs the lead, 1-0. It was a hustle-and-grit moment that underscored the night’s themes: timely hitting, patient at-bats, and the willingness of our pitchers to challenge the Dodgers.
Pfaadt appeared to hit a rough patch in the bottom half of the fourth, inviting more traffic and raising the stakes for the Diamondbacks. Still, the balance of the game remained favorable as we navigated through the innings with grit and discipline. The early run-quality, the patient approach at the plate against Yamamoto, and the steadfast defense kept our chances alive.
In essence, the game turned on a combination of strategic plate discipline, timely hits, and pitching that matched or surpassed the excellent form required to beat a squad like the Dodgers on their home field. Tim Tawa’s early spark and the efficient, aggressive pitching by Pfaadt set the tone, and the rest of the lineup carried that through five and beyond as the night progressed. While the box score and the sequence of events will always hold their own narrative, this win felt less like a fluke and more like a manifested plan coming together: a patient, methodical approach against one of the league’s best, supported by clutch defense and just enough offense to push across the decisive runs.
Bottom line: the Diamondbacks executed a blueprint that challenged the Dodgers’ strengths and exploited the moments when Yamamoto was forced to work deeper into counts, while Pfaadt continued to answer the bell with poise and efficiency. It was a satisfying, hard-fought victory that reinforced belief in the team’s resilience and talent, even against an elite opponent on the road.