The Dodgers’ defense collapsed in the eighth inning, turning a two-run lead into a 6-3 loss to the Cubs on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium.

It looked like he had control for much of the inning, as Yoshinobu Yamamoto looked good on his return, and the Dodgers bullpen held his serve through seven innings. But the eighth was a disaster.

Evan Phillips led off the inning with an inherited run when Alex Vesia walked Ian Happ to lead off the game, but still had a very manageable situation. The first batter Phillips faced reached on an error, and then another misplay on a single by Seiya Suzuki allowed two runners to score and tie the score. Another error put Chicago ahead and never looked back. Phillips deserves some credit for not putting batters away, but it falls mostly on the defense.

Indicative of the nonsensical nature of that eighth inning, five runs crossed the plate with Phillips on the mound. The first was credited to Vesia, and the other four were unearned due to multiple errors.

Far more important than the outcome of tonight’s game was the opportunity to see a healthy Yamamoto playing at full capacity, which would be a turning point for this team’s chances of making it to the World Series.

While it’s somewhat unfair to have such high expectations for a pitcher coming off a long absence, talented as he is, Yamamoto lived up to expectations and then some. The Dodgers’ most expensive offseason pitching acquisition demoralized the best road team in the game, albeit in a small number of cases.

Yamamoto only went four innings, but he was nearly untouchable, striking out eight batters without a single free pass. Given the bigger picture, the Dodgers went to the bullpen early, removing Yamamoto after just 59 pitches.

Looking at the numbers under the hood, the velocity was all there, even higher than normal, perhaps because it was dialed up in a return, and also a shorter exit. The splitter and curveball were mean as usual with 9 whiffs on 16 swings between the two.

The opening round was a harbinger of things to come, as the Dodgers’ starting pitcher struck out the entire game with three key pitches (four-seamer, splitter and curve).

Offensively, all three of the Dodgers’ runs came on solo shots, two by Tommy Edman, who reached two this year, and one by Max Muncy. A bit of a sour note remains with all the bad luck involved, for example Shohei Ohtani had four hard-hit balls and went 0-for-4 on the night. Imanaga finished with a terrific three-run streak in seven innings, but he allowed enough hard contact to be punished far more than he was.

One caveat to this game is the excellent defense of Pete Crow-Armstrong, who repeatedly covered an obscene amount of grass to block potential Dodgers hits. Ohtani went hitless in part because of it. It would only be fitting if the Dodgers’ final threat ended with him. Max Muncy had a chance to bring the tying run to the plate, hit a ball to deep center, nearly a home run, and Crow-Armstrong went up and got it to end the game.

Game details

• Homeruns:Tommy Edman 2 (2), Max Muncy (13)
• WP — Shota Imanaga (13-3): 7 IP, 7 hits, 3 runs, 4 strikeouts
• LP — Evan Phillips (3-1): 1 IP, 2 hits, 4 unearned runs, 1 walk, 1 strikeout
• Sv — Porter Hodge (5): 1 IP, 1 walk

Next

The Dodgers and Cubs meet for the final time of the regular season on Wednesday (7:10 p.m., SportsNet LA), with Bobby Miller hoping to rebound from a horrific outing against the Angels, with rookie Jordan Wicks on the other side of the lineup.