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LOS ANGELES — Max Muncy lifted a Shelby Miller fastball into the air, then raised his left hand and pointed upward. His 10th-inning sacrifice fly had capped a three-run frame that triggered the Los Angeles Dodgers‘ fourth walk-off win this season, a 4-3 thriller over the division rival Arizona Diamondbacks.

It felt slightly bigger than that.

“It was kind of a big game for us,” Muncy said. “We were definitely in a slide.”

The Dodgers were coming off four straight losses at home, their first such losing streak in seven years. And Yoshinobu Yamamoto had responded by delivering seven masterful innings, providing the type of start an injury-riddled pitching staff was clamoring for. As Tuesday’s game played out, winning it became increasingly more crucial.

It took absorbing a game-tying homer from D-backs catcher Gabriel Moreno in the ninth, then coming back from down two runs in the bottom of the 10th — by which point Dodgers manager Dave Roberts had exhausted almost all of his options out of the bullpen.

“We needed a win bad,” said Dodgers reliever Tanner Scott, who surrendered home runs in the ninth and 10th innings. “Luckily we have a pretty good lineup, so it saved us.”

What the Dodgers needed more than anything, though, was a good start.

Yamamoto took the mound after giving up eight runs in 11 innings over his previous two outings, putting a damper on his early-season dominance. Three members of the Dodgers’ rotation — Roki Sasaki, Tyler Glasnow and Blake Snell — resided on the injured list with shoulder injuries. Over the previous four games, the starters who essentially replaced them had combined for a 9.60 ERA. A bullpen that has five high-leverage relievers hurt and leads the majors in innings was ill-equipped to pick up the slack.

With the Dodgers desperately needing a deep, effective start, Yamamoto carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning and shut out one of the sport’s most potent offenses through seven. He allowed just three baserunners — two on walks, one on a hit — and struck out eight.

The D-backs trailed by only a run in the seventh and threatened. Ketel Marte led off with a long single. Yamamoto followed by uncorking a wild pitch, then walked Moreno with two outs. But the Dodgers kept him in to face the right-handed-hitting Pavin Smith, and Yamamoto struck him out with his 110th pitch, the most he has thrown since coming to the United States.

“I just felt, right there in that moment, he was our best option,” Roberts said of the decision to leave Yamamoto in the game. “And it’s not about pitch count, it’s not about third time through — it’s about he’s our best option. And I felt, with where our club is at right now, we need to give him the best chance to get out of that inning. And he proved all of us right.”

Yamamoto fixed what Roberts described as a timing issue with his delivery coming off his last couple of starts. He leaned on his curveball more than he had all year but generated at least two swings and misses with four of his pitches. By the end of it, his ERA had dropped back down to 1.86 through 10 starts, trailing only countryman Kodai Senga (1.43) for the National League lead.

“I’m glad because I was able to contribute to today’s win,” Yamamoto said through an interpreter. “I’d like to continue bringing my contribution to the team.”

The Dodgers seemed poised for their fifth straight loss when Corbin Carroll deposited Scott’s 10th-inning fastball over Dodger Stadium’s left-center-field fence. But the Dodgers came all the way back in the next half inning.

Tommy Edman, who was supposed to have the day off until he was called on to pinch hit in the eighth, led off with an opposite-field double on a pitch well outside. With first base open, the D-backs intentionally walked Shohei Ohtani even though he represented the go-ahead run. After a Mookie Betts fly ball put runners on the corners, Ohtani stole second base, prompting an intentional walk of Freddie Freeman to load the bases. Will Smith was then hit by a pitch, bringing in the tying run. Then Muncy ended it with a sacrifice fly to straightaway center field, giving him five career walk-off plate appearances.

It marked the third time the Dodgers had won a game this season despite trailing by two or more runs in the ninth inning or later, tied for the major league lead.

“We put some at-bats together, man,” Roberts said. “And it was much-needed.”

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Rangers’ Seager feels better, eyes return this year

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Rangers' Seager feels better, eyes return this year

ARLINGTON, Texas — Texas shortstop Corey Seager is feeling better after having an appendectomy and still hopeful of playing again this season for the playoff-chasing Rangers, though the two-time World Series MVP is unsure if that will happen.

“I mean, I have to think it’s possible … or it won’t be,” Seager said Friday in his first public comments since the procedure Aug. 28 in Texas, the same day the Rangers left for a six-day road trip.

While Seager is eligible to come off the 10-day injured list Sunday, he said there’s no chance of that.

A little while later, the Rangers placed slugger Adolis García on the 10-day IL with a right quadriceps strain – prior to the opener of a three-game series against AL West-leading Houston. That move was retroactive to Tuesday.

Outfielder Dustin Harris was brought up from Triple-A Round Rock and right-hander Jon Gray (right shoulder nerve irritation) was transferred to the 60-day IL.

Seager has researched athletes who have come back to play after an appendectomy.

“I feel like I got very opposite ends of the spectrum,” he said. “It was either really fast or kind of wasn’t.”

Matt Holliday was with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2011 when he had an appendectomy on April 1, and returned to their lineup as the designated hitter nine days later. Seager said he had also been told of some basketball players returning in three weeks.

“But it’s not rotating and stuff, so I don’t know if that changes it just because of where the incisions are,” Seager said. “So I really don’t know.”

Seager’s appendectomy came a day after he experienced abdominal pain during the Rangers’ previous home game, a 20-3 win in the finale of a three-game series against the Los Angeles Angels on Aug. 27. He hit his 21st homer of the season in that game, after also going deep the previous night.

Seager said he started feeling pain after the series opener against the Angels.

“Then it just kind of progressively got worse,” said Seager, adding doctors told him he was within 48 hours of his appendix rupturing.

“Which is a very different story,” he said.

Texas went into the series against the Astros five games behind the division leaders, and 1 1/2 games out of the final American League wild-card spot. Second baseman Marcus Semien (left foot) and right-hander Nathan Eovaldi (right rotator cuff strain) are among other injured Rangers.

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Dodgers’ Rushing fouls pitch off leg, awaits scan

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Dodgers' Rushing fouls pitch off leg, awaits scan

BALTIMORE — Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Dalton Rushing left Friday’s 2-1 loss to the Baltimore Orioles after fouling a pitch off his leg in the top of the sixth inning.

Rushing suffered a right lower leg contusion after he fouled off a pitch from Orioles right-hander Kade Strowd. Rushing was replaced by pinch-hitter Alex Call and then catcher Ben Rortvedt.

Starting catcher Will Smith is not available Saturday because of a right hand contusion.

Manager Dave Roberts said Rushing was in rough shape after the baseball hit the inside of his right knee. The catcher was seen on crutches in the clubhouse after the game.

“It got him pretty good,” Roberts said. “X-rays fortunately were negative. He’s going to get a CT scan tomorrow morning just to kind of dig a little deeper on it. He’s pretty banged up right now. I think until we know more, obviously he’s not going to be in there tomorrow. I guess it’s adding him to the day to day list.”

Roberts said Rortvedt will catch Saturday and the club will call up another catcher.

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Witt leaves Royals’ win with low back spasms

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Witt leaves Royals' win with low back spasms

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Bobby Witt Jr. left the Kansas City Royals’ 2-1 win over the Minnesota Twins on Friday in the seventh inning because of low back spasms.

The Royals shortstop made two defensive plays, on ground balls, in the top half of the sixth inning, then exited before Kansas City took the field in the seventh.

“[It happened] sometime in that inning before we took him out,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “He talked to [Royals head athletic trainer Kyle Turner]. As he sat there, it got worse.”

With the Royals leading 2-1, Witt was replaced in the lineup by Nick Loftin, who played third base while Maikel Garcia shifted to shortstop.

Quatraro offered no prognosis on Witt’s return.

“Right now, we just think it’s back spasms, low back spasms,” Quatraro said. “It locked up pretty good on him.”

Witt was 0-for-3 with a strikeout.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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