Dodgers defense ruins strong return by Yoshinobu Yamamoto in loss to Cubs

The Dodgers have gotten almost nothing but bad news on the pitching front this year. On Tuesday, however, the storm clouds hovering over the staff finally might have begun to clear.

It wasn’t just that Yoshinobu Yamamoto struck out eight batters in a dazzling four-inning, one-run return from the injured list. Or that Tyler Glasnow took another step in his recovery from elbow tendinitis, throwing a bullpen session ahead of a scheduled simulated game later this week.

For the first time in months, the Dodgers actually might be able to do more than dream about what a potential postseason rotation could look like.

“I feel much better about the rotation tonight than I did 24 hours ago,” manager Dave Roberts said.

Now if only they could have done something about their sloppy defense.

The Dodgers lost 6-3 to the Chicago Cubs at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday, with numerous defensive miscues — including three errors in a decisive five-run eighth inning — contributing to each of the Cubs’ tallies in their series-clinching win.

“We made a lot of mental mistakes tonight,” third baseman Max Muncy said. “We’ve got to eliminate that.”

Indeed, for a team that Roberts hoped would be in “playoff mode” as they close in on another National League West division title, holding a 4½-game lead entering Wednesday, the maddening mental lapses in the field wasted what otherwise was an encouraging day for their starting rotation.

With Yamamoto at last back, Glasnow looking increasingly likely to come back in time for a potential playoff run, and top trade deadline acquisition Jack Flaherty continuing to bounce back in a resurgent season, the Dodgers might have three talented starters to rely on after all.

Less than three weeks out from the start of the postseason, the makings of a potential October rotation finally are coming into focus.

“It’s starting to turn,” Roberts said, “in terms of getting back the rotation that we had envisioned.”

This, of course, remains no guarantee.

Yamamoto and Glasnow still have many boxes to check. Flaherty, who dealt with back problems with Detroit this season, still needs to get across the finish line healthy. The Dodgers still could benefit from the emergence of a clear No. 4 starter too, evaluating Walker Buehler, Landon Knack, Bobby Miller and Clayton Kershaw (if he returns from his toe injury) for such a role.

But if things keep trending this way, the Dodgers’ potential playoff pitching plans might not be as patchwork as they once feared. Especially if Yamamoto can repeat what he did Tuesday night.

After missing almost three months because of a strained rotator cuff in his pitching shoulder, Yamamoto couldn’t have been more impressive in his long-awaited return.

He commanded his fastball to both sides of the plate, touching 98 mph on multiple occasions. He landed his curveball for strikes and got six whiffs on 10 swings with his splitter. The only run he gave up came in the second inning, scoring after Freddie Freeman failed to snag a high hopper near the first-base line.

“It was a much better return start than I expected,” Yamamoto said through an interpreter, after inducing 11 swings and misses and flashing an uptick in velocity from earlier this season. “I’m really relieved I was able to return and pitch well.”

The fourth inning was the end of the line for Yamamoto, who hadn’t thrown more than two innings in either of his minor-league rehab starts in recent weeks. But the Dodgers are hoping it’s the start of a late-season surge from the 26-year-old, $325-million pitcher, who has a 2.88 earned-run average and 92 strikeouts in 15 starts.

Read more: Clayton Kershaw 'trying everything,' even working with Skechers, to ease toe injury

“He really showed out,” Roberts said. “I didn’t know if there was going to be rust or how he was going to command the baseball, but he passed with flying colors.”

Glasnow, whose status had been uncertain since going on the injured list last month, also appears to be turning a corner. The veteran right-hander and de facto staff ace threw his second bullpen in the last week Tuesday, impressing Roberts and other executives in an extended session that included his entire pitch mix.

“It was good,” Roberts said. “I didn’t talk to him about it afterwards, but my eyes liked what I saw.”

Glasnow next will throw a two- or three-inning simulated game Friday during the team’s trip to Atlanta. If that goes well, he could be on track to return before the end of the regular season, an encouraging development for the team’s $136.5-million offseason acquisition, who is 9-6 with a 3.49 ERA.

“To get him in a major league game is a priority,” Roberts said.

Before the game, Roberts exercised cautious optimism while discussing the state of the staff, which still is without not only Kershaw, who played catch Tuesday, but also rookie Gavin Stone, who remains shut down because of shoulder inflammation.

Asked how built up Yamamoto and Glasnow could be by the end of the month, Roberts replied: “Whatever the buildup is, is what it is, and we’ve got to go from there. So obviously I’d love to say that six [innings] and 90 [pitches] would be great. How realistic that is for both those guys, time will tell.”

By the end of the night, the manager had more pressing frustrations with his team’s porous fielding — the main culprit in their fourth loss in six games.

After taking a 3-1 lead into the eighth — Tommy Edman hit two early home runs, his first of the season, and Max Muncy went deep in the fifth — the Dodgers capitulated during the Cubs’ five-run rally.

Reliever Alex Vesia issued a leadoff walk. Throwing errors from catcher Austin Barnes (who fired wide of first on a swinging bunt) and Edman (who threw a ball from center that neither shortstop Miguel Rojas nor Muncy at third base corralled) led to the tying runs. Then the go-ahead run scored when second baseman Kiké Hernández lost the ball while trying to tag a baserunner on a potential double play.

“It was very uncharacteristic,” Roberts said. “Just a different team that I didn’t really recognize in that eighth inning.”

Barnes took accountability for his errant throw. “It was horrible,” he said. “This one’s on me.”

The guilty party on Edman’s error wasn’t as clear afterward. Muncy, who let the ball get by him before it dribbled into the Dodgers’ dugout, said he thought Rojas was going to cut the play off at shortstop.

“It was thrown right at him,” Muncy said. “Yeah, I thought he was going to catch it.”

Roberts, however, said Rojas was trying to deke the runner at first base to prevent him from going to second, putting a glove up as nothing more than a decoy, believing Muncy was positioned to get the ball behind him.

“Miggy made the right play as far as trying to keep that runner at first base,” Roberts said. “I don’t know if Max was in the right position, to be quite honest, and then the ball got by him. That’s a play that shouldn’t get past the third baseman.”

Those mistakes muted the good vibes from Yamamoto’s impressive start. They served as a reminder of the fine-tuning left to take place in the season’s final stage.

Read more: 'Self-fulfilling prophecy.' The Dodgers' role in MLB's pitching injury epidemic

Gonsolin starts rehab

In other positive pitching news, right-hander Tony Gonsolin began a rehab assignment with triple-A Oklahoma City, pitching two scoreless innings in his first game action since undergoing Tommy John surgery last year.

Gonsolin remains unlikely to contribute this year, Roberts said, barring a “crazy scenario.” But by making some rehab starts, Gonsolin should be set up for a smoother return to the rotation next year.

Teoscar’s return

The Dodgers lineup was expected to get a boost Wednesday, with Teoscar Hernández scheduled to return after missing four games because of a foot contusion.

Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.