Brock Stewart perfect in ninth for rare save

Scott breezed through a one-two-three inning here to secure the save. That’s now 11 converted saves over his last 12 tries dating back to the beginning of June to go along with a stellar 2.34 ERA on the season. The question is whether he retains some, most, all, or none of the closer’s role in Los Angeles with Edwin Díaz’s imminent return from the injured list.

He’ll make one final minor league rehab appearance at Triple-A Oklahoma City on Sunday and if all goes well, he’ll rejoin the Dodgers’ bullpen early next week. Tanner Scott will get a few additional days to hold down the closer’s role in his absence.

Scott had no problems getting the final two outs in the eighth, but he allowed a leadoff single to Justin Crawford and then a one-out double to J.T. Realmuto in the ninth, putting runners at second and third. Brandon Marsh then hit a grounder to third. Crawford hesitated at third and eventually took off before getting caught in a rundown. That should have been the end of it, but Realmuto decided to retreat from third to second towards the end of the rundown and was thrown out to end the game. It was one of the worst baserunning calls all of the season, and it was hard not to wonder if Realmuto getting jarred by a foul tip earlier in the game might have had something to do with his decision making. Thanks to the abrupt ending, Scott threw just 18 pitches to get his five outs. He should be good to go again on Wednesday.

It sounds like the plan is for Díaz to continue his rehab assignment this week, most likely with back-to-back outings, before returning to the back-end of Los Angeles’ bullpen later this week. The 32-year-old closer is coming off surgery to remove loose bodies from his elbow back in early April.

Díaz has struck out six of the nine batters he’s faced, while allowing just one baserunner, across three rehab outings in the lower minors. The 32-year-old stopper figures to be close to making it back to Los Angeles’ late-inning mix and figures to take over the closing duties from Tanner Scott upon his return. There should be a definitive timeline when Dodgers manager Dave Roberts speaks to reporters at some point this weekend.

It took Scott just 11 pitches to dispatch the Yankees and earn the save here. His fastball was a tick harder than average and he made it look easy. He’s now converted nine of 10 save opportunities since the start of June and has performed like one of the best closers in the league. Just keep an eye on Edwin Díaz who’s currently out on a rehab assignment and will likely siphon off some save chances from Scott upon returning.

Díaz remains on track to rejoin the Dodgers’ bullpen sometime after next week’s All-Star break, with Tanner Scott continuing to handle the ninth inning until then. The 32-year-old former All-Star closer has been sidelined since early April, when he underwent arthroscopic surgery to remove loose bodies from his elbow. He got off to a rocky start during his Los Angeles debut, but his track record suggests a return to form is well within reach, but only if his health cooperates. His fastball velocity and ability to generate swinging strikes during his rehab assignment will be the key indicators that fantasy managers need to closely monitor.

Scott blew a three-run lead in the ninth inning on Monday. but things went smoothly tonight, as he threw just 11 pitches in getting a flyout and then two K’s.

Scott managed to walk Ezequiel Tovar with one out before giving up a single and an RBI double. At that point, he intentionally walked Hunter Goodman to load the bases. He followed that with a dominant three-pitch strikeout against TJ Rumfield, but Cole Carrigg then doubled to the gap with two outs. It seemed poised to give the Rockies the lead, but Goodman was called out at the plate after a replay review. It’s just Scott’s second blown save of the year and first to come in the ninth inning. He’ll remain the Dodgers’ primary closer for now, but it does look like the team will be getting Edwin Díaz back before the end of the month.

Scott struck out Samad Taylor on nine pitches, Miguel Andujar on three and Fernando Tatis Jr. on six. In his last eight appearances, he’s allowed three hits, walked none and fanned 13 over eight scoreless innings. The Dodgers did need him to finish up Thursday as well, so he’ll probably be unavailable Saturday. Edgardo Henriquez has also worked back-to-back days, so perhaps Alex Vesia could wind up with a save.