PHOENIX — It was a pitcher’s duel in the desert on Saturday night, and unfortunately for the Dodgers, the final blow came on one misplaced fastball. Despite a strong outing from Dustin May, Los Angeles fell 3–0 to the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field, dropping the series and continuing their struggles against winning teams.
Manager Dave Roberts had high praise for May, who looked sharp over six innings aside from one costly pitch.
“I thought Dustin was really good,” Roberts said after the game. “He was in a good rhythm. He was getting ahead in counts. He put guys away when he needed to. The sweeper was working. He worked to both sides of the plate.”
The lone blemish on May’s night came in the fourth inning, moments after a double play had cleared the bases. May left a fastball out over the plate, and D-backs slugger Eugenio Suárez didn’t miss. “After the big double play, he left a fastball out over to Suárez for the homer,” Roberts explained. “But really outside of that, I thought he pitched really well.”
The Dodgers’ offense, on the other hand, couldn’t solve Arizona ace Corbin Burnes. Roberts acknowledged that Burnes was on another level. “We figured that velocity was up,” he said. “He was mixing. It’s a cutter, it’s a changeup, he was throwing his four-seamer—and we really didn’t get a whole lot of good swings against him.”
Burnes wasn’t the only pitcher who gave the Dodgers trouble. Arizona reliever Ryne Nelson closed the door with two quick innings to preserve the shutout. “I think Nelson just basically was coming after us,” Roberts said. “He was attacking us with the fastball, and guys were late on the heater. It was smart to run him back out there for the second inning, and he was certainly efficient.”
Even though the Dodgers came into the series on an offensive upswing, Roberts didn’t see Saturday’s performance as a step backward. “I think you just got to give credit to [Burnes] tonight,” he said. “Corbin, the last couple starts, his velocity has been down a bit, but today he came out with his A stuff.”
The loss continued an unsettling trend for the Dodgers—now 3–9 in their last 12 games against teams with winning records. Still, Roberts didn’t sound too concerned. “No, not at all,” he said when asked if that stat bothered him. “We still got to play the schedule, and I still know we’re a good ball club. Yeah, we probably do got to play better against teams with winning records, but I’m not carrying too much weight into that one right now.”
If there was a silver lining offensively, it came from Michael Conforto, who’s been grinding to turn his season around. Roberts acknowledged Conforto’s hard contact finally paying off. “It was [encouraging],” he said. “I think he hit some outfield grass; that feels good, and you got to get that feeling. He’s working extremely hard, and hopefully the good fortune will turn and start to stack up some knocks and start to get some big hits for us.”
As for Arizona’s investment in Burnes, Roberts made it clear the right-hander is delivering exactly what the Diamondbacks hoped for when they signed him. “Obviously they’re looking for a guy, a workhorse, a staff ace,” Roberts said. “A guy that gets lefties out, gets righties out, can go deep into games, and that’s what they’re investing in and counting on. He did all of that tonight, and we’re going to see him down the road, I’m sure, a lot.”
Despite the loss, the Dodgers turn the page quickly, with plans to bounce back behind a rested bullpen and a roster that still believes in its potential.
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