One Pitch Will Be Remembered The Rest Shouldn't Be Forgotten

By the time Ketel Marte's walk-off homer landed in the Arizona night, the blame had already started finding its destination.

Marte stepped into the batter's box in the bottom of the ninth inning Thursday night, saw a first-pitch offering from the Dodgers closer Tanner Scott and deposited it into the Arizona night for a walk-off home run. The Diamondbacks poured from the dugout, Chase Field erupted, and the Dodgers were left staring at a 3-2 loss that felt frustrating for reasons that extended well beyond one pitch.

None of this is meant to absolve Scott of responsibility. Marte is one of the most dangerous hitters in the National League, and the Dodgers closer left him a pitch he could handle. The result was predictable.

Marte is one of the most dangerous hitters in the National League and Scott knew exactly what he was trying to do. The problem was that the pitch ended up in a place where Marte could launch it.

"I left one up and in," Scott said afterward. "I knew he was going to be aggressive. He is coming out there for one thing, and he did it. On these type of nights, it hurts. It's on to the next."

Scott's accountability is obvious. What's less obvious is how many other moments contributed to the outcome.

Lost in the aftermath will be the fact that Will Klein surrendered a game-changing homer to Corbin Carroll leading off the eighth inning. Lost in the aftermath will be the walk that followed and the single that put additional traffic on the bases. Lost in the aftermath will be Geraldo Perdomo's game-tying RBI single off Alex Vesia after Klein exited.

By the time Marte stepped to the plate in the ninth, the lead had already disappeared.

Lost in the aftermath will also be a Dodgers offense that never delivered the knockout punch. The top four spots in the lineup combined to go 1-for-16 and failed to score a run. On a night when the Dodgers managed only two runs, that matters.

Perhaps the biggest shame of all is that Justin Wrobleski's latest impressive performance will be buried beneath the walk-off highlight.

The rookie left-hander continued what has quietly become one of the most important developments of the Dodgers season, working six scoreless innings while scattering six hits and keeping Arizona completely under control.

At this point, solid almost feels like an understatement.

Every time the Dodgers have needed innings, Wrobleski has provided them. Every time questions arise about the rotation depth, he seems to answer them. All-Star ballots were released Thursday. If he continues pitching like this for another month, the discussion may become more interesting than anyone expected when the season began.

The game's most frightening moment arrived in the fifth inning when Max Muncy and Diamondbacks first baseman Ildemaro Vargas collided violently while racing to first base. Both players were sent sprawling to the dirt and remained down for several minutes.

Fortunately, the outcome appears better than the collision looked.

Muncy later said neither player seemed certain which direction to take as they approached the bag.

"I thought he was going to stay on that side," Muncy explained. "I felt like neither one of us knew the direction they were going to go and we both went the wrong direction and, bang."

Muncy left with a cut on his nose and underwent concussion protocol, which he reportedly passed. The Dodgers plan to hold him out Friday as a precaution.

As for Arizona, the Diamondbacks continue to reinforce a point that has become increasingly difficult to ignore. Outside of Shohei Ohtani's wizardry, they have matched the Dodgers punch for punch throughout this series. Thursday's victory earned them a split in the four-game set and served as another reminder that they aren't going to disappear from the National League West conversation anytime soon.

One final note before the Dodgers head to Anaheim. Shohei Ohtani technically had the night off, though anyone watching the ninth inning could see that designation came with an asterisk.

As Arizona prepared to bat in the ninth inning, Ohtani could be seen putting on his batting armor in anticipation of extra innings. Andrew Friedman recently referred to Ohtani as a "Silver Bullet" waiting in reserve for the right moment.

The game ended before that bullet could be fired.

Something tells me it won't stay holstered for long.

For now, the lasting image will be Marte circling the bases after a first-pitch fastball found too much plate. That's how baseball works. One pitch becomes the memory. One player becomes the culprit.

The reality is usually more complicated than that.

Thursday night was no exception.