Cole Irvin provides length as Dodgers fall to Red Sox

LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers accomplished one of their primary objectives Friday night.

They just couldn't accomplish the other.

On a night that was designed as a bullpen game, the Dodgers got exactly what they hoped for from Cole Irvin, who soaked up six valuable innings after being recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City. In the bigger picture, that could pay dividends over the weekend by giving Dave Roberts a fully refreshed bullpen ahead of Yoshinobu Yamamoto's start Saturday.

The immediate result, however, was another loss.

Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

Jul 31, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (17) bats against Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Ranger Suarez (not pictured) during the first inning at Dodger Stadium.

After rallying from an early three-run deficit to briefly take the lead behind Shohei Ohtani's go-ahead two-run homer, the Dodgers watched the game unravel in the seventh inning, falling 9-4 to the Boston Red Sox. The defeat dropped the Dodgers to 69-41.

The night began exactly as scripted.

Edgardo Henriquez opened with a scoreless first inning before turning things over to Will Klein, who was asked to bridge the game until Irvin could take over. Instead, Klein's difficult second half continued.

The right-hander lasted just 1⅓ innings, allowing three hits and one run while throwing 39 pitches. More concerning than the line itself was how familiar it has become. Klein has now allowed at least one run in six consecutive appearances, five of them earned, and has surrendered runs in eight of his last 11 outings.

Roberts acknowledged afterward that the club is searching for answers.

"We're trying to dig into it," Roberts said. "There were some good fastballs in there. The secondary stuff is what's getting him."

Roberts added that "since the break, Klein hasn't been sharp," while noting the Dodgers are still trying to determine whether the issues stem from mechanics, his arm or something else.

Things deteriorated quickly in the third.

After consecutive singles by Nick Sogard and Ceddanne Rafaela, Klein hit Willson Contreras in the helmet to load the bases before exiting. Irvin entered the jam hoping to escape, but Masataka Yoshida hit a sharp ground ball that Freddie Freeman couldn't handle cleanly, allowing two runs to score and giving Boston a 3-0 lead.

Irvin settled in immediately after that.

The left-hander retired eight consecutive hitters at one point, giving the Dodgers exactly the kind of length they desperately needed on a night when preserving the bullpen was every bit as important as winning the game.

"Orange County kid that gets to play for one of his hometown teams is pretty special," Irvin said. "I'm thankful for that."

While Irvin stabilized the game, the offense slowly chipped away.

Freeman put the Dodgers on the board with an RBI single in the fourth before the Dodgers broke through in the fifth against Ranger Suárez. Eliezer Alfonzo cut the deficit to one with an RBI single, ending Suárez's night after 4⅔ innings.

One batter later, Ohtani changed the game.

Facing reliever Jovani Morán, Ohtani launched a rocket two-run homer into right field to erase the deficit and give the Dodgers a 4-3 lead. It was his 24th home run of the season after also doubling earlier in the night.

Ohtani had received a scheduled day off Thursday, something Roberts believes can benefit him.

"I think it's a day-to-day, read and react," Roberts said. "With any player, rest and feeling fresh isn't always a bad thing."

For a brief moment, it looked like the Dodgers had stolen another comeback victory.

Instead, the seventh inning erased all of that momentum.

Irvin entered having cruised through six innings, but a leadoff walk opened the door. Rafaela capitalized by crushing a go-ahead two-run homer that flipped the game back in Boston's favor at 5-4.

The inning only snowballed from there.

Andruw Monasterio lined a two-run double into left to extend the lead before Jarren Duran added an RBI groundout, turning what had been a one-run game into an 8-4 deficit in a matter of minutes.

Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

Jul 31, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Cole Irvin (68) throws a pitch against the Boston Red Sox during the third inning at Dodger Stadium.

Irvin ultimately wore the damage, finishing six innings while absorbing the bulk of the workload Roberts envisioned when the Dodgers scratched together Friday's pitching plan. He had originally been scheduled to start for Triple-A Oklahoma City before being called up to Chavez Ravine.

His outing may prove valuable over the next several days, even if the final score did not.

The Dodgers successfully avoided taxing their highest-leverage relievers, but they couldn't overcome another rough outing from Klein or recover after Boston's decisive seventh inning.

Now they'll turn the page quickly. Yamamoto takes the ball Saturday as the Dodgers look to even the series with a rested bullpen behind him.