Erratic Edwin Díaz loads bases before earning save

Díaz, who came in with a two-run lead to start the ninth, gave up four straight singles in between a pair of strikeouts. The last hit tied the game, and then Alex Vesia gave up a go-ahead single after taking over. The first two hits against Díaz came on bad fastballs near the heart of the plate, but the third and the fourth were more a case of good hitting by the Brewers. Four singles doesn’t really mean much in the grand scheme of things — it’s better than going down because of walks and homers — but the latest poor showing might get Díaz bumped from the closer’s role for a spell. It’s the fourth time in five appearances this month that he’s been scored upon. Tanner Scott figures to be the main beneficiary if Díaz is thrust into lower leverage situations for now.

It’s been a struggle for Díaz since he came off the IL, but his lone difficulty tonight against the bottom third of the Royals lineup was his shoelace coming untied with two outs. He threw only 12 pitches, so he should be available to close again Tuesday.

Oh dear. Díaz was handed a one-run lead, and it almost immediately went away with the right-hander giving up back-to-back triples to give him yet another blown save. Those looking for the glass to be half full can point to the 32-year-old getting out of the inning without giving up the winning run, but those who want that glass to be closer to empty are within their rights. Yes it’s been somewhat due to injuries, but it’s hard to call what Díaz has done in 2026 anything but a disaster. A 10.80 ERA in August is pretty hard to argue against.

Working with a one-run lead in the bottom of the ninth, Díaz walked the leadoff man in the ninth, struck out Tim Tawa and then gave up a walkoff homer to Ryan Waldschmidt. It’s the second homer Díaz has allowed in four appearances since coming off the IL, though it’s the first to hurt the Dodgers. He should still be safe in the closer’s role for now, but another blown save right away could change that.

Díaz came in to keep the game close in the eighth after not having pitched since Friday, and unfortunately for him and the Dodgers, he gave up a solo homer to Nico Hoerner. He also gave up a hit and a walk in an appearance that would be classified as a lot of things before it was considered impressive. Since returning from the injured list, Díaz has given up runs in two of his three innings, and his ERA is now 9.35 on the season.

Díaz’s velocity was down a bit from Wednesday, but he allowed only a single and struck out two of the four batters he faced. He’ll definitely be down Friday after this, and Tanner Scott, who set him up for a second straight game, likely will be, too. Perhaps that will result in a save chance for Evan Phillips.

The Dodgers had a 4-0 lead going until the eighth. Tanner Scott pitched that inning and allowed one run to create the save situation. Diaz then gave up a double to Dominic Canzone with one out and another to Josh Naylor with two outs before Luke Raley’s 86-mph liner to first ended the game. It’s definitely a good sign for those rostering Díaz that he got the ball in the ninth right away in his first game back. He averaged 96.9 mph on his five fastballs, which was 1.2 mph better than his April average prior to surgery. Scott is probably worth holding on to for now in most formats, but that would change if Díaz looks good the next couple of weeks.

He’s back. Díaz figures to immediately reclaim the closer role in Los Angeles with lefty Tanner Scott remaining in the mix to vulture the occasional opportunity. The 32-year-old former elite stopper’s stuff looked sharp in a handful of minor league rehab outings, piling up 11 strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings, while working his way back from surgery to remove loose bodies from his elbow back in late April.

The 32-year-old stopper will make one final rehab appearance on Sunday at Triple-A Oklahoma City before returning to the Dodgers. Before landing on the injured list, Díaz had posted a 10.50 ERA, 2.33 WHIP and a 10/5 K/BB ratio over six innings in his first seven appearances with the Dodgers.

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.