The two-time defending champion Dodgers on Thursday night suffered a crushing ninth-inning loss to the Brewers -- their chief competitors in their efforts to pull off the elusive three-peat. Once again, struggling Dodgers closer Edwin Diaz is a topic of conversation. The Dodgers went into the bottom of the ninth with a 4-2 lead, but Díaz surrendered four straight singles with one out and allowed the Brewers to tie the game.
At that point, manager Dave Roberts lifted Díaz for Alex Vesia, who permitted the go-ahead run on another single. The Brewers preserved that lead for a stunning 5-4 win. The loss was potentially a significant one because the Dodgers, who have lost nine of their last 13, are jostling with the Brewers and Braves for the top two seeds in the National League bracket.
Those top two seeds get a bye to the Division Series, while the division winner with the worst record must play a Wild Card Series. The stakes, then, are quite high, and the Dodgers going into Friday's slate are two games behind the Brewers for best record in MLB -- and home-field advantage throughout the postseason -- and just a half-game ahead of the Braves and, thus, at risk of falling out of the top two. As for Díaz, it's been a miserable first season with the Dodgers after he signed a three-year, $69 million free agent pact this past winter.
Earlier this season, the 32-year-old Díaz was out more than three months after undergoing elbow surgery. Since he's returned from the injured list, he's got a 12.71 ERA with three blown saves in seven appearances. Overall, opposing batters have a slash line of .375/.462/.643 this season, which means Díaz in 2026 has basically turned every opposing hitter into "Yordan Alvarez on a heater." This year's output, of course, is in stark contrast to Díaz's work in 2025, when, as a pending free agent, he authored a 1.63 ERA in 62 appearances as the Mets' closer.
It's also out of step with the rest of his career, as Díaz, a three-time All-Star with two finishes in the top 10 of the Cy Young vote, had a lifetime ERA+ of 144 coming into 2026. This season, Díaz has lost a full tick of velocity off his fastball, and he hasn't commanded it well. Compared to 2025, he's located far too many fastballs over the heart of the plate, whereas last season he was at the top of the zone most of the time.
As well, his whiff rates on his fastball and slider have cratered. Even so, Roberts appears to be sticking with him, which may be less an endorsement of Díaz than it is a reflection of the troubled and, in recent days, overworked state of the rest of the Dodger bullpen. "Give me another option," Roberts told reporters, including the , when asked if Díaz would continue getting save opportunities.
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