LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani grabbed his helmet as he retreated to the dugout and reared back with it before hesitating. He reared back again but did not let go. It’s rare to see Ohtani even feign anger at the plate, but the ninth-inning bases-loaded strikeout provided kindling for a rare outburst. The frustration had nearly boiled over even for the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar as another massive missed opportunity Sunday came and went.
An opportunity for the whole weekend came and went, too. The Dodgers were five outs away from a sweep over the American League-leading Toronto Blue Jays and 90 feet on multiple occasions from rectifying a day of self-inflicted wounds. But rather than wash a month and a half of little momentum, they remained stuck in a maddening cycle with a 5-4 loss. They took the series but have not won more than two games in a row since July 3. They ended the weekend with just a two-game lead in the National League West over the San Diego Padres, the same lead they entered it with.
It could’ve been more, and setting up the kind of run that has seemed to be building for the Dodgers for weeks. But much like they built up innings Sunday, the payoff didn’t follow.
The Dodgers stranded a season-high 16 runners. Thrice, they loaded the bases — they got a grand total of two runs in those spots, both on bases-loaded walks. They recorded 10 hits and drew 13 walks, taking five of them against the Blue Jays’ erratic closer, Jeff Hoffman, over the final two innings. The last time a Dodgers team accomplished both of those in a nine-inning game and lost? A 9-8 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies on May 11, 1982. They’ve never accomplished both 10 hits and 10 walks in a nine-inning game and scored as few runs as the four they scored Sunday.
“This was frustrating,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “I just felt there’s no way we should lose this game today.”
The Dodgers had forced Blue Jays starter Eric Lauer to throw 56 pitches in the game’s first two innings but managed just a run on a Freddie Freeman walk before Teoscar Hernández struck out to end the inning. Even after the Dodgers’ one-run lead evaporated in the eighth, they continued to churn out base runners to lure Hoffman for what would’ve been a four-out save. Freeman again drew a bases-loaded walk to tie the score, but the scoring stopped there. Michael Conforto pinch hit and got the 3-1 fastball he wanted — right down the middle from Hoffman. He popped it up into foul territory for an out.
“(On) 3-1, you get a pitch that — you couldn’t put it on a tee better,” Roberts said. “We’ve got to move it forward.”
HIS NAME IS MASON FLUHARTY 😤
He strikes out Shohei Ohtani and gets Mookie Betts to ground out to close out the Dodgers 💪 pic.twitter.com/vV3D12f3D1
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) August 10, 2025
Hoffman’s strike-throwing remained an issue into the ninth, as he walked the bases loaded with one out with a one-run lead for Ohtani and finally drew a pitching change. Soft-tossing left-hander Mason Fluharty needed nine pitches before he finally drew the reigning MVP out of the strike zone, as Ohtani waved over a breaking ball to spoil the chance.
“We’ve got to come up with one right there,” Roberts said. “Chasing a ball down below is something that we can’t have happen.”
Mookie Betts’ soft dribbler to end it capped off a day when the Dodgers went 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position — and missed a chance to build on something.
“When you’re creating those opportunities, you’re doing something good as an offense,” Max Muncy said. “You just have to finish the job.”
Less has been asked of the Dodgers’ bullpen as of late, but it’s still hard to envision whom the team will ultimately trust in the biggest spots even when they get whole. Blake Treinen was quick to provide another reminder of that Sunday afternoon. He has not looked right whatsoever since returning from a flexor issue that had kept him out since April. Twice, he’s loaded the bases and been forced to exit a save situation. Of the first 18 batters he’d faced since his return, 10 had reached safely. Much of his struggles came from a lack of strike-throwing.
Then came Sunday, when he got punished in the strike zone. He entered a one-run game in the eighth and hung an 0-2 sweeper down the heart of the plate that Vladimir Guerrero Jr. pulverized into the pavilions to tie the score. Two pitches later, he spun another sweeper that drifted right down the middle. Addison Barger launched it into the stands to give Toronto its first lead since the fifth inning Friday night.
“I thought my stuff today was great,” Treinen said. “It’s a location thing. I mean, literally as center-cut as you can throw them is where they hit ’em.”
An inning later, Ernie Clement ambushed a first-pitch Alex Vesia slider to retake a lead. It marked the 65th home run the Dodgers’ bullpen has allowed this season — third most in the major leagues.
Ernie Clement sends the first pitch he sees over the fence 💪
And the @BlueJays lead again! pic.twitter.com/D33Qysnd9u
— MLB (@MLB) August 10, 2025
“I thought we did great (as a team) today,” Vesia said. “Honestly, the offense was really good. It’s the bullpen that — we need to get our stuff figured out.”
This group is getting healthier. Michael Kopech (Monday) and Kirby Yates (Wednesday) are about to start facing hitters, with Tanner Scott not far behind them. Kyle Hurt has been facing hitters down in Arizona in his return from Tommy John surgery. Brusdar Graterol still looms in the background. But the existing options have continued to be unsteady. Roberts left the door open for Treinen to be used in lower-leverage spots, but it’s hard to envision the bullpen being where it needs to be without his pitching well. Even Vesia, the club’s most reliable arm this season, has allowed runs in consecutive outings.
For at least a precious 10 days in August, the Dodgers have constructed the version of this starting rotation that they dreamed of. That feeling might be fleeting, but it’s created a foundation to believe in.
It was Tyler Glasnow’s turn Sunday, turning in the latest strong start in what would be a 5-4 win. He followed a standout performance from Blake Snell, who had watched Clayton Kershaw continue to turn back the clock while slowing down the radar gun the night before. Through nine games so far this month (49 1/3 innings), this starting staff has yielded a 1.46 ERA.
This was the goal. The Dodgers have sold themselves on a vision; they have constructed a better roster than the one that led them to a World Series a year ago. The genesis of that confidence starts with starting pitching.
They limped into last October with a patchwork starting staff, with their three main postseason starters leaving margin for doubts. Jack Flaherty’s velocity had waned over the season’s final month. Yoshinobu Yamamoto was still working his way back from a strained rotator cuff that had cost him a significant chunk of his first season in Major League Baseball. Walker Buehler, off his second Tommy John surgery, had a 5.38 ERA.
Last year’s rotation limped to the finish. The start of this season saw the group turn into a liability, forcing the bullpen into the largest workload in the sport while being wiped out due to injuries. Even after Sunday, their 3.99 season ERA ranked 15th, and 545 2/3 innings ranked dead last.
Now, they’re finding what they’d hoped for.
This time around, Glasnow is healthy and seemingly freed from the mental hurdles that have sunk so many starts that marred the early part of his season. He did not appear to be in his best form Sunday. His fastball velocity sat closer to 96 mph rather than the elevated velocity he has shown in his five starts since returning from the injured list. His command was erratic as he issued four walks and had several more misfires. Still, he did not unravel. He got through 5 2/3 innings while allowing just two runs, clicking back closer to his usual velocity and command as the start progressed.
“It’s not in the back of mind, something feeling weird or feeling off,” Glasnow said. “Just able to go out and compete a bit more. Just my mental headspace is in a better place competition-wise, focusing on how to get the hitter out.”
Glasnow’s emergence only adds to a group that has finally clicked into place. Snell, the prized free-agent signing, has looked like his two-time Cy Young-winning self. Yamamoto has gone wire to wire so far and could earn votes of his own. Ohtani’s return from a second major elbow procedure has gone as well as anyone could have ever hoped; he might be pitching the best of this group right now. Kershaw has a 3.14 ERA and continued to show his craft. Even Emmet Sheehan has looked as good as anyone could expect off his Tommy John surgery. A year after struggling to get three healthy starters to October, they have at least six going well.
Again, fleeting. There is still a lot to survive and answer by the time October comes around. But the Dodgers finally appear to have what they expected to be a strength.
(Photo of Shohei Ohtani: Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images)
