Tawa's 9th-Inning Blast Seals Arizona's Comeback Over LA

Tim Tawa crushed a 414-foot homer to center in the ninth inning, swinging the win probability from 25% to 10% for the Dodgers and putting the game away for good. Arizona rallied from three runs down to beat Los Angeles 5-3 on July 12, 2026.

Shohei Ohtani looked like he was going to be the story. He opened the scoring in the first with a 437-foot shot to center, and Tommy Edman's two-RBI single in the third — scoring both Ohtani and Pages — pushed the Dodgers to a 3-0 lead. Emmet Sheehan was doing his part, working 5.1 innings and allowing just 1 earned run on 3 hits while striking out 7. Through four innings, this looked like a comfortable Dodgers afternoon.

Then the fifth inning happened. Nolan Arenado doubled to center to score Vargas, and a Waldschmidt sacrifice fly plated Arenado to make it 3-2. Arizona wasn't done. In the sixth, a throwing error by third baseman Muncy on a Gurriel Jr. fielder's choice allowed Perdomo to score and tied the game at three. Ildemaro Vargas — who finished 2-for-4 with an RBI — then singled to right to score Moreno and give Arizona a 4-3 lead, though Vargas was thrown out trying to stretch it to a double. The story of that inning appears to be the Dodgers' defense unraveling at the worst possible moment, handing Arizona the lead without the visitors even needing a clean hit to take it.

Arizona's bullpen then locked it down in a way that looks, frankly, dominant. Taylor Clarke, Jonathan Loaisiga, and Ryan Thompson combined for 3.1 innings of shutout ball, allowing zero hits and striking out five. Tawa's ninth-inning homer — 414 feet to center — was the exclamation point, pushing the lead to 5-3 and dropping the Dodgers' win probability from 25% to 10%. Arizona's offense got contributions up and down the lineup, with Arenado, Vargas, Moreno, and Tawa all scoring, but it's the bullpen's collective performance that appears to have been the true engine of this comeback win.