With the 2026 All-Star Game behind us, it’s time to gear up for the second half of the season.
That said, the first half was full of ups and downs for the Boys in Blue, but they hit the break with an MLB-best record of 61-36.
We here at Dodgers Nation asked fans to help us put together our list of the best moments.
Check out some of our favorite responses below, and let us know if we missed anything!
1. Miguel Rojas’ epic throw
Let’s start with an electric defensive highlight that Lysa Stone summed up nicely: “Miggy throw, Freddie split.”
On June 5 in the Freeway Series, a hard-hit ground ball ricocheted off of Roki Sasaki’s glove.
Fortunately, Miggy Ro was there to barehand the ball and get it to first baseman Freddie Freeman, who was in a full split, narrowly beating the runner.
The Angels runner was initially called safe, though Rojas’ incredible play was confirmed to be an out upon review.
As Jorge Aleman described it, “Play of The Year!!!”
2. Teoscar Hernandez’s game-winning grand slam
Mike Shippey nominated this one: “Teo’s GS against the Pads on July 3rd was pretty sweet.”
Mike, “pretty sweet” might be an understatement.
On July 3, the Dodgers were in a 3-0 hole to the San Diego Padres.
Fortunately, with the bases loaded in the seventh inning, Teo Hernandez stepped up and homered to left center field, flipping the game on its head and leading to a Dodgers win.
As Brent Schneider noted, that’s just one of several come-from-behind wins against the Padres this season, providing several results for Dodgers fans to savor.
3. Vesia’s save in front of the nurses
Shoutout to Joe Collins for bringing up this emotional moment.
On April 14, Alex Vesia recorded a save in a 2-1 win over the New York Mets with three ninth-inning strikeouts on just 10 pitches, but that’s far from the best part of the night.
Vesia and his wife, Kayla, lost their daughter during the 2025 World Series run, and for this game, the Vesias invited a few dozen healthcare workers who’d cared for their family to take in Dodger Stadium.
After the game, SportsNet LA’s Kirsten Watson pointed out the caregivers’ suite to Vesia.
That wave he shared with them was a moment not to be forgotten.
4. Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s nearly perfect game
This one was nominated by X user @yestosehunn: On June 13, Yoshinobu Yamamoto took a perfect game into the eighth inning and a no-hitter into the ninth.
A bobbled ball by Mookie Betts with two outs in the eighth inning and a solo homer in the ninth were all that stood between Yama and history, though the game was well in hand by that point.
With the near-miss performance, it seems like it could be a matter of time until Yamamoto earns that no-hitter.
As an honorable mention, we have to include Yama’s dominant performance against the Toronto Blue Jays after his World Series MVP performance last year, an achievement noted by both Daniel Schneider and Damien Garrett.
5. Dalton Rushing responds to controversy with walkoff hit
Dalton Rushing may be the Dodgers’ lightning rod this season, but amid all the confrontations with other teams and a public spat with Shohei Ohtani, he’s still a fantastic catcher and hitter.
In the Dodgers first extra-innings game of the year, Rushing was the hero with an 11th inning RBI single.
“Rush getting that walk off after all the controversy. Feels good,” Jose Ortega said.
And an honorable mention here: Rushing’s first MLB grand slam against the New York Mets on April 15.
What did we miss?
There’s so much we didn’t even get to with this list, moments like Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts each hitting their 300th home runs, Max Muncy’s greatness and more.
Let us know what you wish we had included and perhaps we’ll have to put together a Part 2 before the regular season resumes.
