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The Dodgers needed to turn things around Sunday to wrap up the first half on a high note. Manager Dave Roberts said as much the night before.
“When you give teams free bases, extra outs, it’s hard to win a game, regardless of the opponent,” he said. “Emmet [Sheehan] needs to go out there and throw the baseball well tomorrow. We’ve got to find a way to win a game tomorrow to feel somewhat better about going into the break.”
Instead, the Dodgers fell to the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-3, swept for the first time this season. It was Arizona’s first sweep at Dodger Stadium since September 2017.
Sheehan at least did his job, holding the Diamondbacks to two runs in 5⅓ innings.
It was clear from the first at-bat that his pitch count could limit how deep he pitched into the game. Sheehan won a 14-pitch battle to strike out Ketel Marte.
The right-hander then struck out the side and was efficient enough to pitch into the sixth. He exited after his pitch count reached 101.
Shohei Ohtani sparked the offense with his ninth leadoff home run of the season — and 22nd overall — on a two-hit day. But he’ll get treatment this week instead of playing in the All-Star Game.
It wasn’t a clean defensive game for the Dodgers. In the midst of the Diamondbacks’ two-run fifth, All-Star center fielder Andy Pages tracked a long fly back to the wall but missed the catch as the ball bounced off his glove.
In the sixth, the tying run scored when All-Star third baseman Max Muncy’s throw to the plate hit Geraldo Perdomo in the back as he ran home.
Regardless of some sloppiness, the Dodgers have had a successful season going into the break.
They have the best record in the majors (61-36) and an 11½-game lead in the National League West. They also had six players selected as All-Stars.
So, as Major League Baseball pauses play and honors some of the best performers in each league, now’s a good time to hand out our first-half awards.
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MVP: Shohei Ohtani
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Who else? Ohtani’s the frontrunner for the NL most valuable player — not just these unofficial first-half awards — for his two-way performance.
He’s been a top performer both on the mound and in the batter’s box. He entered Sunday among the top three in the league in offensive fWAR (26.6) and on-base-plus-slugging percentage (.940). And his 1.79 earned-run average ranked second among NL pitchers who have thrown at least 50 innings. He remains in the Cy Young conversation, despite pitching only 85 ⅔ innings in the first half because of the Dodgers’ six-man rotation and a missed start stemming from an irritated left knee.
Honorable mention: Freddie Freeman, Max Muncy
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Cy Young: Yoshinobu Yamamoto
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Yamamoto has carried this rotation through both performance (2.85 ERA) and workload, leading the team with 110⅔ innings.
Last month, he carried a perfect game into the eighth inning and no-hitter into the ninth against the Chicago White Sox. That was one of two starts of at least eight innings that he’s authored. He’s thrown six or more innings in all but two starts.
Honorable mention: Shohei Ohtani, Justin Wrobleski
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Most improved: Justin Wrobleski
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This time last year, Wrobleski was moving back and forth between triple A and the majors, providing length out of the bullpen after making changes to his delivery.
Coming into this season, a regular rotation spot was not guaranteed. Now, he’s an All-Star. And in a star-powered rotation, he has the second-best ERA (2.69) and has pitched the second-most innings (100⅓).
Honorable mention: Tanner Scott, Dalton Rushing, Andy Pages
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Second-half breakout candidate: Kiké Hernández
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Hernández has been on the field for only four plate appearances, exiting because of a strained left oblique in just his second game back from offseason surgery on his left elbow. But he recorded a hit in each of those plate appearances, including a pair of doubles.
Hernández, on the verge of a rehab assignment, is on a faster track to return than Roberts initially expected.
Others to watch: Edwin Díaz, Edgardo Henriquez, Alex Freeland, Kyle Tucker
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