By Ben Gale

July 12, 2026 • 3:04 AM EDT

Updated 2 days ago

If you thought lightning couldn’t strike twice in Chavez Ravine, the Diamondbacks just proved otherwise. After surprising the Dodgers with a big 9-3 win the night before, Arizona did it again, handing Los Angeles a 9-2 loss with a mix of timely hitting and decent pitching. It looked like a mismatch on paper, with the Dodgers’ ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto facing Arizona’s Brandon Pfaadt, but that’s why they play the games.

I’ll level with you: coming into this one, I had no reason to think the Diamondbacks would pull off another upset, especially with Yamamoto on the mound. Yeah, Pfaadt looked solid against the Giants and Padres since coming back from Reno, but the Dodgers are a different animal. The top of Arizona’s lineup got sat down quietly in the opening frame, and Yamamoto had that early groove. But Pfaadt answered back with a five-pitch first inning of his own. From that moment, you could tell this wasn’t going to be a walkover for LA.

Arizona’s hitters got patient while the Dodgers couldn’t string anything together. Tim Tawa picked up Arizona’s first hit with two outs in the second, and while he was picked off immediately, at least it started chipping away at Yamamoto. That patience showed up in rising pitch counts for Yamamoto, especially as the Diamondbacks loaded up at bats and forced long innings. In the third, James McCann reached on an error, Tommy Troy drew a walk, and the D-backs made Yamamoto work for every out.

The breakthrough came in the fourth inning. Gabriel Moreno walked, Max Kepler singled, and Tawa put a routine ball in play to drive in the first run. On the other side, Pfaadt got into a bit of a mess but didn’t break — he kept his cool to hold the Dodgers off the board in key spots. That’s exactly the kind of growth you want to see from a pitcher who struggled earlier in the season, and tonight’s outing against an elite lineup is worth even more than his earlier good starts.

Both starters settled into the fifth, but then the floodgates opened in the sixth. Perdomo walked, Moreno singled, Kepler drove in a run with a sac fly, and then Tim Tawa doubled to bring in another. The best part? Gabriel Moreno ran through a stop sign at third, nearly bowling over his coach to score. After an intentional walk to Arenado, James McCann smoked a three-run homer to blow the game wide open. A 1-0 nailbiter turned into a 6-0 lead, and that’s when you really saw the wheels come off for the Dodgers.

Pfaadt fizzled out in the bottom half, giving up four hits and two runs before being lifted, but the bullpen shut the door. Kevin Ginkel pitched a clean seventh, and Arizona’s bats kept up the pressure. Knack, just off the injured list for LA, got tagged for back-to-back solo homers by Arenado and McCann in the eighth. Final score: 9-2 Diamondbacks, with all the damage coming from the bottom half of Arizona’s lineup. Per Yahoo Sports, Tawa and McCann were the game’s offensive standouts, while Pfaadt was sharp until the latter stages of his outing.

Key developments that shaped this game for bettors and fans alike:

• Brandon Pfaadt delivered five-plus innings of tough pitching against MLB’s best record, handing Arizona a real edge early.
• Tim Tawa posted a three-hit, two-double, two-RBI night, his second huge game in a row.
• James McCann’s pair of home runs (including a three-run shot) was decisive.
• Arizona’s offensive production came entirely from the bottom six hitters — not the stars atop the order.
• Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the Dodgers’ ace, was run out after a six-run sixth, boosting Arizona’s run probability and demoralising LA bettors.
• Late-inning bullpen work for both teams confirmed the D-backs’ advantage with a stress-free finish.

Dodgers’ ace undone by patience from Arizona lineup

It’s one thing to beat up on a bullpen, but the D-backs made Yamamoto earn every out. Rising pitch counts, long at bats, and pressure at the bottom of the order wore him down. By the time James McCann stepped in for his first homer, Yamamoto looked spent. If you’re betting on form, these are the warning signs you want to spot — especially with a supposedly elite pitcher.

Diamondbacks bullpen delivers, Dodgers never threaten late

Once Pfaadt left, Brandyn Garcia, Kevin Ginkel, Juan Morillo, and Philip Abner kept LA scoreless the rest of the way. That’s the kind of bullpen effort you generally need to secure plus-money road upsets. The Dodgers, on the other hand, never put together a real late threat, thanks in big part to Arizona’s composure — a meaningful note for live-betters eyeing in-play totals.

Key takeaways for bettors

• Don’t write off a team on a “lucky” night; momentum and matchups matter, especially when the opposition is worn down from a long bullpen game.
• Pfaadt’s outing against the Dodgers carries more weight than his prior matchups — and suggests the D-backs are undervalued if their rotation stays solid.
• James McCann and Tim Tawa are swinging hot bats, both worth monitoring as player prop targets while this form lasts.
• The Dodgers struggle when forced into deep counts against patient hitters, which can be a warning sign for betting unders on LA’s ace pitchers going forward.
• Lineup depth matters — tonight’s game was won by hitters 4–9, not the supposed stars.
• Arizona heads into the potential sweep with serious confidence and nothing to lose, a dangerous mindset for a heavy underdog and smart value for contrarian bettors.
• Monitor who’s out for LA — tonight’s missteps and short rest in their bullpen gave Arizona significant leverage late in the game.
• If you’re following live odds, watch for in-game momentum swings: Arizona’s blowup inning in the sixth completely flipped any under or run-line bets.
• Injury watch: Tommy Troy leaving after a foul to the knee and collision with the wall is something to track if betting on Arizona’s lineups moving forward.
• Getting value means staying alert, and nights like this show why you don’t blindly back favorites in baseball — upsets can come from anywhere.

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