The Los Angeles Dodgers were three outs away from their 36th comeback win of the season and a victory that was going to pull them even with the Milwaukee Brewers for the best record in the National League.
Edwin Díaz was called upon to close out the 4-2 game in what marked his seventh appearance since having surgery to remove loose bodies from his right elbow. Like had been the case in his prior save attempts, Díaz labored and blew the lead. Alex Vesia then allowed an inherited runner to score the go-ahead run in the Dodgers’ 5-4 loss.
“A loss is a loss, but there’s certain losses that are more costly,” manager Dave Roberts said after the game. “When you use five relievers and you lose a game, that’s costly. So that’s what front of mind for me.”
Dodgers keeping Edwin Díaz in closer role
Despite the ongoing struggles, the Dodgers remain committed to Díaz as their closer.
“Give me another option,” Roberts responded when asked if Díaz would be moved into a lower-leverage role. “I can’t just say, ‘low leverage.’ I have to have other options, and to be quite honest, none of those guys have really thrown the baseball great. That’s just kind of the way it is.”
To Roberts’ point, the Dodgers don’t have an abundance of quality options to fill in at closer. Though, one obvious candidate is Tanner Scott, who succeeded in the role while Díaz was recovering.
The blown save was Díaz’s fourth of the season. Three of them have come in his last five games.
“I’ve just got to find a way to pitch better. I’ve been in this position before and I’ve been able to find a way to get better,” Díaz said. “I just got to sit down with the pitching coaches and see what I’m missing.”
Roberts allowed for the reality that Díaz is still searching for a rhythm in a season that saw him spend three months on the injured list after elbow surgery.
“He’s got a job to do. There is a little bit of he’s coming back. Yes, this game hurts. It matters, but he’s got to find his way and he’s got to have a runway to find his way. I’m betting on the fact that the stuff will kind of right and he’ll figure it out.”
Reasons for Díaz’s struggles have oscillated between lack of fastball command and an ineffective slider. Against the Brewers he routinely was leaving fastballs over the plate.
“I was throwing strikes, but right in the middle. Every big league hitter can hit a fastball right in the middle. You can throw it 200 miles an hour and they will hit it,” he said. “I’ve got to get better at that.”
Edwin Díaz open to new role
For his part, Díaz expressed an understanding if the Dodgers felt a change was necessary.
“I’ve got to see what they want to do. I know I’m struggling, so I want to do what’s best for the team,” he said. “At the end of the day if they give me the ball in the ninth, I will try to do my job. If they give me another inning, I will try to do my job. I’ve just got to get better and be consistent. If I do that, I’ll be fine.”
Roberts noted that Díaz has spent the past eight seasons as a closer, and transitioning out of that could prove challenging.
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