08/14/26 01:50:00
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08/14 01:49 CDT Another bullpen meltdown leaves Dodgers manager Dave Roberts
infuriated and Edwin Diaz frustrated
Another bullpen meltdown leaves Dodgers manager Dave Roberts infuriated and
Edwin Diaz frustrated
By GREG BEACHAM
AP Sports Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) --- Edwin Diaz is out of explanations and manager Dave Roberts
is almost out of patience after the latest untimely meltdown by the Los Angeles
Dodgers' problematic bullpen.
The Dodgers took a two-run lead into the ninth inning Thursday night with Diaz,
the highest-paid closer in baseball, on the mound. The defending champions left
one inning later with a 5-4 loss to the NL-leading Milwaukee Brewers, who
wreaked havoc on Los Angeles' already beleaguered relief corps with a clutch
three-run, five-hit rally.
Diaz (2-2) blew a save for the third time in his last four appearances for the
Dodgers, giving up four consecutive one-out singles and three runs.
The normally imperturbable Roberts was clearly annoyed after this brutal loss
in a game that would have pulled the Dodgers even with the Brewers atop the
National League standings. Instead, Los Angeles has lost nine of 13.
When Roberts was asked whether Diaz would be allowed to continue to work
through his struggles as the closer, Roberts snapped: "Give me another option."
"I can't just say, ?Change (Diaz) to low leverage,'" Roberts added. "I have to
have other options, and to be quite honest, none of those guys really have
thrown the baseball great. That's just kind of the way it is."
That's the dilemma facing Roberts, whose bullpen doesn't currently contain a
reliever he completely trusts. While the Dodgers' overall bullpen statistics
aren't glaringly bad, Diaz's struggles and a series of poor performances in
recent high-leverage situations have clearly taxed Roberts' problem-solving
ability.
"You look back at the last week, and guys have struggled," Roberts said. "I'm
not going to sit here and play carousel and chase my tail ... when a guy is
struggling, and then when he doesn't pitch well, then it's, ?Why are you
pitching him?' I don't do that. Everyone has got a role. They all have jobs to
do, and they all have to do their job. That's it."
The trumpets that herald Diaz's entrance into games have sounded more like a
dirge lately while his ERA ballooned to 11.57. The three-time All-Star and
longtime Mets closer has been frequently awful since returning late last month
from a three-month absence for elbow surgery, giving up eight runs and 12 hits
in only seven appearances.
"It's frustrating, because I know my ability," Diaz said. "I know what I can do
on the mound. To not be able to do it (stinks). I've just got to come tomorrow
and try to keep getting better."
Diaz realizes he could be in danger of losing his job as the Dodgers' closer.
"I've just got to see what they want to do," he said. "I want to do the best
thing for the team. 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 the ball in another inning, I
will try to do my job. Got to get better, be consistent."
Despite Roberts' protestations, the clearest option to replace Diaz is
left-hander Tanner Scott, who earned 16 saves this season before Diaz returned.
But Scott's miserable 2025 season is still top of many minds in Los Angeles,
and his 2026 performance has mildly declined in recent weeks.
Roberts realizes he could consider a closer-by-committee plan, but that's also
difficult when any choice will be concerning.
"We've got to get other guys on track to even have that be even a valid
conversation, to be honest with you," Roberts said.
The bullpen's struggles are magnified because the Dodgers' talent-laden lineup
hasn't blown out anyone in weeks. Los Angeles has won just two games by more
than two runs since July 19, repeatedly putting its relievers into perilous
situations.
The Dodgers are trying to become the first NL team to win three straight World
Series, and their fans still remember their team barely scraping through last
season with a patchwork bullpen that finished 21st in the majors in ERA. In the
postseason, LA improbably converted rookie starter Roki Sasaki into a closer.
Diaz was supposed to be the foundation of a return to a strong bullpen for the
Dodgers, who hadn't had a standout closer for years. Instead, he's the central
figure in another mess in mid-August.
Roberts is frustrated, but he's also got perspective.
"I know people don't want to hear it, but it's baseball," Roberts said.
"Offenses go in lulls, and the bullpens go in lulls, and sometimes you get in a
run where the starting pitching isn't there. It is what happens, and it just
doesn't feel good. And it certainly is more highlighted when the 'pen doesn't
throw the baseball well, because it costs you games."
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