Jeferson Quero (biceps) weeks away from catching

Crow-Armstrong and Shohei Ohtani, the NL MVP front-runners at the moment, had nearly identical games from the DH spot today; both went 3-for-5 with leadoff homers in the first and a two-run homers later on. They were even the 25th and 26th homers of the season for both. The difference, though, was that PCA’s third hit was an RBI double, whereas Othani’s was an RBI-less single. Crow-Armstrong is now hitting .288/.386/.552, putting him in fourth place in the majors in OPS. He has three two-homer games this season and nine for his career.

The run came on Shohei Ohtani’s homer to lead off the first. Imanaga allowed seven more hits afterwards, but they were all singles, and he didn’t walk anyone. He has a 1.21 ERA in his last five starts, though two of those produced losses anyway. He’ll face the Nationals next week.

Caleb Thielbar and Ryan Zeferjahn combined to give up two homers and five runs in the eighth to turn it into a tight game, but Webb was undeterred. He retired Tommy Edman, Kyle Tucker and Mookie Betts in order to end the contest. It’s his 18th straight scoreless appearance, and barring a letdown, he might just hang on the closer’s role after Daniel Palencia’s return.

Even though they have Thursday off, the Dodgers didn’t get aggressive in removing Lauer today; he was allowed to give up five straight hits and three runs with two outs in the fourth inning. The Dodgers offense almost left him off the hook by scoring five times to close within one run in the eighth, but it went as his first loss for the team; he’s now 5-1 with a 3.72 ERA in 55 2/3 innings since being sent off by the Blue Jays. Lauer should start again Tuesday against the Royals, but that might be his last turn for a while with Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow on the way back.

Ohtani homered off Shota Imanaga to start the game and hit a two-run shot off Ryan Zeferjahn to bring the Dodgers within one run in the eighth. It’s his first two-homer game of the year. Ohtani is 15-for-31 with four homers in his last eight games. He’s tied for ninth in the majors with 26 homers, and he’s second in OPS at .953, having overtaken Juan Soto today.

Unfortunately, the Dodgers really needed the fifth hit, but Betts flew out to end the 7-6 loss. His first four at-bats all produced nice line drives to the outfield, ranging from 84 mph to 105 mph off the bat. Betts entered the day hitless in 12 at-bats this month. He was hitting .149 with one walk in 48 plate appearances since his only previous four-hit game this season, when he went 4-for-5 with two homers against the Phillies on July 20.

Marte takes a seat with Ildemaro Vargas covering second base. The 32-year-old has hit a rough patch recently, hitting .200 (14-for-70) with two homers and eight RBI in 17 games since last month’s All-Star break.

Moreno is back at DH and hitting cleanup on Wednesday against the Padres following a two-game stint away from the club on paternity leave. The 26-year-old backstop has put together a really strong campaign, slashing .298/.380/.438 with eight homers, 47 RBI and four steals in 350 plate appearances.

Del Castillo returns to the minors with starting catcher Gabriel Moreno back from paternity leave for Wednesday’s showdown against San Diego.

Even Coors Field was no match for Martinez’s sometimes shocking ability to keep runs off the board. In this game he didn’t force many whiffs, the Rockies had seven hard-hit balls, and put constant traffic on the bases. It amounted to nothing though as Martinez had his 16th start this season where he’s allowed two or fewer runs while completing at least five innings. His changeup and sinker forced enough timely ground balls and he did well to not allow a free pass despite only throwing a first-pitch strike to 12 of the 22 batters faced. His 2.65 ERA is fourth-lowest in the American League as his highly effective season rolls on. Next up will be another tall task as Martinez is scheduled to face the Athletics in hitter-friendly Sacramento.