What happened: Shohei Ohtani was scratched from his scheduled start Friday due to continued irritation in his left knee, but stayed in as designated hitter and hit a leadoff home run off Eduardo Rodriguez. The Dodgers lost 9-3 to the Diamondbacks, with Tim Tawa's go-ahead homer off Brock Stewart and a wild pitch and balk from Edgardo Henriquez fueling Arizona's rallies. Andy Pages also went deep for Los Angeles, finishing 3-for-4.
Why it matters: Dave Roberts said Ohtani would pitch in October if this were the postseason, framing the knee issue as manageable rather than serious. The loss also exposed defensive lapses from Kyle Tucker, Dalton Rushing and Tommy Edman that led to unearned runs, a pattern Roberts has flagged over the Dodgers' last three games heading into the All-Star break.
By the numbers: Ohtani's 381-foot drive was his 21st home run of the season, his third in his last four games, and his 10th since the knee issue first surfaced June 10. Pages' 3-for-4 night was his ninth three-hit game of the season, pushing his average to .269 and OPS to .807. The Dodgers have committed six errors over their last three games but still lead the majors in fielding percentage this season.
What to watch: Ohtani is set to have the knee drained Sunday, with a pain-relieving injection likely to follow, and will miss the All-Star Game. Roberts has indicated Ohtani's spot in the batting order is unaffected heading into the break.