Los Angeles Dodgers at Arizona Diamondbacks

It didn’t start well after a sweep in late March. But the D-backs’ season series with the Dodgers ended gloriously. For the first time since 2018, the club has toppled its division rivals, winning seven of the 13 regular-season contests, including six of the last seven. More than 136,000 fans packed into Chase Field during a series that felt reminiscent of what to expect during the postseason. Of course, under the banner of “if the season ended today,” the D-backs would join the Dodgers there. By virtue of their 4-2 win on Sunday in the series finale, they remained tied with the Phillies for the second National League Wild Card spot. There’s more than a month and a half until the playoffs begin, but if the D-backs needed a Game 1 starter, it would almost surely be Eduardo Rodriguez. The 2026 All-Star was again in top form Sunday, stymieing the star-studded Dodgers lineup for the fourth time this season. He yielded just two runs across seven frames and turned in a season-high nine punchouts, throwing 115 pitches, his most in a start since Sept. 9, 2019, as a member of the Red Sox. But this isn’t just any lineup. It’s the Dodgers, who boast the second-highest team OPS (.766) in baseball. Rodriguez gave up eight runs (six earned) against the club in two starts last year, but has completely flipped the script on them in 2026, posting a 1.88 ERA across his four outings. Finding that much success in a single season against the two-time reigning World Series champions has been largely unprecedented over the past three years. The only other hurler to face L.A. on three or more occasions in a year and post a sub-2.00 ERA came in 2024 when Yu Darvish did so for the Padres. It’s conceivable that the two clubs could meet again in the postseason, much like they did in 2023 on the D-backs’ way to winning the pennant. But for now, the continual cat-and-mouse adjustments are over. “That’s the beauty of the game,” manager Torey Lovullo said. “It’s changing up sequencing and reading, reacting and having a meeting about what the new gameplan will be, adjusting to the strengths of their team and who’s hot and who’s not -- it’s constant. It’s a puzzle. Every single time you play a team, especially the Dodgers, it’s never the same.” One major way that the D-backs and Rodriguez adjusted from earlier this year was in how to attack four-time MVP Shohei Ohtani. Back on March 28, the D-backs’ southpaw threw the left-handed-hitting slugger just one changeup in three plate appearances