Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
The Dodgers (39-22) held on last night for a 6-5 win over the Diamondbacks (32-28). They put up four runs in the first two innings off Michael Soroka, but only had one baserunner from the third to seventh inning where they scored two more much-needed insurance runs. The bullpen struggled (mainly Kyle Hurt), giving up three runs and 10 baserunners in 4 1/3 innings of work but managed to hold on for a white knuckle of a win. Today, the Dodgers look to guarantee at least a series split and aim for their 40th win.
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| 6:40 P.M. | Phoenix | ||
| DH | Ohtani (L) | SS | Perdomo (S) |
| CF | Pages | RF | Carroll (L) |
| 1B | Freeman (L) | C | Moreno |
| SS | Betts | 3B | Arenado |
| RF | Tucker (L) | DH | Smith (L) |
| 3B | Muncy (L) | CF | Waldschmidt |
| C | Smith | 2B | Vargas (S) |
| LF | Call | 1B | Fernandez |
| 2B | Freeland (S) | LF | Troy |
| P | Ohtani (R) | P | Gallen (R) |
Shohei Ohtani gets his 10th start of the season and is coming in with a three-game winning streak. That shouldn’t be notable, as Ohtani has a 0.82 ERA/2.49 FIP in 55 innings and has allowed more than one earned run in a game only once this season. However, Ohtani’s getting the typical Dodger-ace run support (3.39 runs/game) so the win streak has been carried by the Dodgers scoring exactly four runs in each of the three games. Ohtani threw back-to-back shutouts against the Giants and Padres before allowing a run against the Rockies last time out. He managed to allow a run to the Rockies without allowing a hit, as he threw six no-hit innings but issued four walks and a hit-by-pitch. The run came in the fourth inning after Ohtani walked TJ Rumfield and hit Hunter Goodman to start the inning. A groundout moved Rumfield to third, and Willi Castro grounded out to score him. Ohtani’s also hit a leadoff homer in each of his last two starts, basically giving him all the run support he’s needed in those games. Ohtani’s faced the Diamondbacks twice in his career as a pitcher, both times in Arizona. In 2021, Ohtani allowed two runs and five hits in five innings with eight strikeouts. His final regular season start last year came in Arizona, and he allowed five hits over six shutout innings.
Zac Gallen gets his 13th start of the season for Arizona. Gallen got the Opening Day start for Arizona in LA and struggled, allowing four runs and five hits in four innings in an 8-2 Dodger win. He bounced back from that start with a strong April, posting a 2.19 ERA in five April starts with six runs allowed in 24 2/3 innings. Things unraveled hard for Gallen in his six May starts, as he allowed 24 earned runs in 30 2/3 innings. Gallen allowed 14 runs in 14 1/3 innings over his first three starts of the month before turning it around a bit, allowing five runs in 10 1/3 against the Giants and Rockies. He struggled again in his most recent outing in Seattle, allowing five runs on eight hits over five innings with three homers allowed. Gallen saw the Dodgers twice last season with mixed results. In May, Gallen faced the Dodgers in Arizona and allowed four runs on a season-high 10 hits over 5 2/3 innings. He faced them again in LA in late August and shoved, allowing two hits and three walks over six shutout innings with eight strikeouts.
Gallen mostly uses a four-pitch mix, leading with a four-seamer 38.7 percent of the time. He throws a slider 23.1 percent of the time overall, but it’s his most-used pitch against righties (37.3 percent). He almost completely throws the slider away against lefties (only 8.9 percent usage), choosing to lean on the changeup (23 percent vs lefties) and knuckle curve (22.8 percent).
No surprises in the Dodger lineup, with Ohtani serving two-way duties again. Alex Call gets another start in left and Alex Freeland starts at second.
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Ohtani hits today, but is expected to be off tomorrow.
“Empty the tank” night for Shohei Ohtani tonight, Dave Roberts said. Ohtani won’t be in Thursday’s lineup, and Roberts is comfortable pushing him tonight. #Dodgers
— Katie Woo (@katiejwoo) June 3, 2026
Ohtani’s last day off at the plate was on May 14th, a Thursday game against San Francisco that came after a start day and before a series in Anaheim. They’re following the same gameplan here, even with the detail that the Dodgers open a series against the Angels at Dodger Stadium on Friday.
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Some OKC news.
Alek Thomas will get his first action at AAA since being acquired from Arizona on May 12. He’s starting in center and hitting eighth. James Tibbs is back in the field after dealing with some arm soreness, starting at first. Tommy Edman also hits second for OKC and plays left field for the first time in his rehab. He figures to be an option in left if he returns before Teoscar Hernandez does.
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First pitch is scheduled for 6:40 PM PT and will be on SportsNet LA.
