​The Los Angeles Dodgers used a bullpen game on Friday, July 10, after Shohei Ohtani was pulled from his scheduled start, and this rare strategy left the team feeling let down for the night. The relief efforts began with Kyle Hurt, who endured a rough 1.2 innings, surrendering two runs on three hits, issuing a walk, and recording just a single strikeout. He was followed by Will Klein, who delivered a more stable 1.2 innings, allowing only one run to cross the plate. Brock Stewart, for the first time this season, gave up a run as well, but his two runs came in a single flurry, with three total runs scoring—including a home run after a walk to extend the damage.
By then, the game had already spiraled to a 6-2 deficit, and additional runs continued to mount. Arizona plated nine runs in the end, aided by two more against the Dodgers on defensive miscues while Edgardo Henriquez was on the mound and another tally with Evan Phillips involved in the action. The night did not improve on the mound, as every pitcher on the Dodgers’ staff allowed at least one hit or run, underscoring how trying the pitching performance was across the board.
Offensively, Ohtani opened the scoring with a leadoff home run, and Andy Pages followed with a homer of his own, but that quickly became the Dodgers’ only sustained offense until the ninth inning. A standout at the plate was Andy Pages, who went three-for-four, delivering one of the few multi-hit performances for the Dodgers. Besides Pages, Miguel Rojas stood as the other player to collect more than one hit, providing the Dodgers with a bit of life at the plate amid the struggles.
As the game wore on, Los Angeles elected to rest some of its veteran players, focusing on evaluating depth and giving opportunities to a broader group of players as they approached the All-Star break. The Dodgers were set to return to action the following day for what would be their second-to-last game before the break, a matchup that carried substantial weight for their momentum in the season’s latter half. Yoshinobu Yamamoto was scheduled to toe the mound in a game that could potentially offer a vintage start, with an eye toward six or seven innings and a chance to steady the Dodgers’ pitching and provide a more competitive performance on the mound. This set the stage for a critical stretch of games with the All-Star break on the horizon and the Dodgers hoping to regain rhythm and confidence as they head into the second half of the season.