PHOENIX –– There are no-doubters. And then there are the kind of thunderous swings Ketel Marte uncorked in the bottom of the ninth inning on Thursday night at Chase Field.
After leading by two runs entering the eighth inning, the Dodgers got walked off by the Arizona Diamondbacks 3-2 in the bottom of the ninth.
The fatal blow: A first-pitch fastball from Tanner Scott that Marte absolutely crushed deep to left.
Second deck. 431 feet. 113 mph. Cue the Gatorade showers and home plate celebrations.
"In that situation, he's coming out for one thing and he did it," Scott said. "Bad pitch."
Ketel Marte celebrates with teammates after hitting a walk-off home run. Getty Images
Really, it was a bad all-around night from the Dodgers, and especially the bullpen, which squandered a 2-0 lead in Thursday's four-game series finale by allowing three runs over the final two frames.
Will Klein was at fault for initially blowing the lead, making a mess of an eighth inning that began with a leadoff home run from Corbin Carroll . After that, Klein walked Gabriel Moreno , then gave up a one-out single to Ryan Waldschmidt.
Alex Vesia tried to come in and limit the damage, but Geraldo Perdomo got him with a base hit to center that tied the score.
"I just think the command of the fastball and the sweeper was just not where it was [earlier in the year]," manager Dave Roberts said of Klein, who allowed five hits and two walks over two appearances this series.
The Dodgers had initially taken the lead Thursday in the most painful of ways.
With two outs in the fifth inning, Max Muncy hit a ground ball up the line that Arizona first baseman Ildemaro Vargas fielded directly behind the bag. What ensued next was a brutal head-on collision.
Los Angeles Dodgers' Max Muncy and Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Ildemaro Vargas collide on a play in the fifth inning. AP Photo/Rick Scuteri
Vargas tried to quickly record the out himself, racing back toward first. Muncy came barreling directly at him.
Muncy got there first by half a step, reaching safely for an infield single.
But neither player had time to avoid the other, sending them crashing into each and flying to the ground.
Max Muncy collides with Ildemaro Vargas at first base. Getty Images
Luckily, neither Muncy nor Vargas suffered any serious injury, with Muncy clearing concussion protocol and walking away with only a cut on his nose.
Even better news for him: The Dodgers capitalized on his effort to get to first safely.
Max Muncy walks off the field with an apparent injury after colliding with Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Ildemaro Vargas. Anna Carrington-Imagn Images
The team's next batter, Ryan Ward, laced a line drive to right field that Corbin Carroll misplayed and allowed to sail over his head, scoring pinch-runner Santiago Espinal from first. Dalton Rushing followed with a bloop single to center, giving starting pitcher Justin Wrobleski a 2-0 lead in his scoreless six-inning start.
Alas, after Klein's eighth-inning stumble, the Dodgers couldn't recover.
Will Smith hit a double with two outs in the ninth, but was left stranded when Espinal struck out against Dbacks closer Paul Sewald .
Scott, who is effectively serving as the Dodgers' closer in the wake of Edwin Díaz 's injury, then failed to get the game to extras, after Marte ambushed his down-and-in first-pitch fastball.
"You've got to tip your cap. He's a good hitter," said Scott, who has now been charged with losses in two of his three most recent outings. "Should I have gone up and in? Yeah. Or just a slider. I knew he was going to be aggressive. [But he's a] good hitter."
Added Roberts: "Challenge fastball down and in. [Marte] doesn't miss too many of those."
Ketel Marte hits a walk-off home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the ninth inning. Getty Images
What it means
For the first time in three weeks, the Dodgers (40-23) have failed to win a series. Instead, Thursday's loss left them with a four-game split against the Dbacks (33-29) this week in the desert this week, snapping their streak of five-consecutive series victories.
The defeat also marked just the third time in 37 tries this year the Dodgers failed to win after leading through seven innings. Two of those losses have now come in the last six games, following the three-run implosion Scott suffered in the eighth inning last week against the Philadelphia Phillies .
He still has just a 2.42 ERA this year, but has given up three home runs in all three games he's been credited with a losing decision.
"For sure," Scott said about needing to turn the page on Thursday. "Once we leave here, it's on to the next."
Who's hot
Wrobleski continued his breakout 2026 season, producing his fourth start of at least six scoreless innings to lower his ERA to 2.62.
For a second-straight outing, the left-hander's fastball played up, averaging 95.6 mph. And while he only had four strikeouts –– returning to a pitch-to-contact approach after his season-high nine Ks last week –– he was effective at limiting damage and wiggling out of jams, from stranding a one-out double from Corbin Carroll in the first inning to runners at the corners following a pair of singles in the third.
"Felt like I threw the ball pretty well, kept them off balance, punched four," Wrobleski said. "I mean, I feel like it's a pretty solid outing."
Wrobleski continued his breakout 2026 season. Getty Images
Wrobleski's biggest escape came at the end of his night, after a two-out single from Nolan Arenado and double from Ryan Waldschmidt in the sixth inning put two runners in scoring position.
However, Wrobleski got Pavin Smith to ground out; after catcher Dalton Rushing won back-to-back ABS challenges to turn a 2-0 count into an 0-2 hole.
"That was really awesome, [for him] to get those for me," Wrobleski said. "And "That's a really big spot in the game."
Who's not
With Shohei Ohtani getting the day off following his two-way masterpiece on Wednesday, Mookie Betts was bumped up to the leadoff spot in the batting order.
Shohei Ohtani sits in the dugout in the first inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks. AP Photo/Rick Scuteri
The move, however, did little to snap what is quickly becoming a troubling, prolonged slump.
Betts went 0-for-4 in the defeat, dropping his batting average this season to .183.
Worse than that, the Dodgers couldn't benefit from Ohtani as a pinch-hitter, either.
The Dodgers could have used him for Espinal's at-bat in the ninth (even though he likely would've been intentionally walked), but by that point had already burned every other active player available on their bench. That meant, had Ohtani come in, he would would have had to play defense (unlikely) or the Dodgers would have had to burn their DH spot by putting Smith behind the plate and figuring out the rest of their defensive alignment (perhaps Rushing at first, and Freddie Freeman at third?).
Had the game reached the 10th inning, Roberts said he would have finally gone that direction.
Marte made sure to negate that possibility.
Up next
The Dodgers return home for a weekend series against the Angels, starting on Friday night when Roki Sasaki (3-3, 4.59 ERA) will face left-hander Reid Detmers (2-5, 4.63 ERA).
