The Los Angeles Dodgers have enough talent and enough breathing room in the standings to avoid panic. Seven consecutive losses, however, are difficult to dismiss, particularly when the latest one ends with the opposing team celebrating a walk-off home run.
That was the scene in Arizona on Friday after rookie Ryan Waldschmidt launched a two-run homer off Edwin Diaz in the ninth inning, turning a late Dodgers lead into a 4-3 defeat against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Manager Dave Roberts didn’t attempt to dress up what had happened.
“A loss is a loss, but to get walked off never feels good,” Roberts said. “We didn’t play a clean game, a great game, on either side of the baseball, but we did enough to put ourselves in position to win a game. Unfortunately, we couldn’t finish it.”
The defeat continued a remarkable slide for the two-time defending World Series champions, who entered the Arizona series after being swept by the Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs.
Edwin Diaz leaves Roberts with difficult decision
The Dodgers appeared poised to finally stop the run after Andy Pages homered in the eighth inning to give them a 3-2 advantage. Then came another difficult outing for Diaz.
After walking the first batter of the ninth, the closer left a slider in the middle of the plate and Waldschmidt punished it for his first major league walk-off homer.
“It’s the slider,” Diaz said. “The fastball was great today, but I missed the slider right in the middle. I think I was trying to be perfect with the pitch and I’m missing right in the middle. I’ve got to be better.”
The obvious question is whether Roberts should look elsewhere in the ninth inning. He acknowledged that possibility without pretending there is an obvious solution.
“Honestly, you’ve got to look at the options,” Roberts said. “The way some of these guys are throwing, they’re not throwing great, either.”
Dodgers still have time
Despite their alarming form, the Dodgers remain in a considerably stronger position than most teams suffering through a seven-game losing streak.
Los Angeles entered the weekend at 69-47 and still held a 7½-game advantage over the Diamondbacks in the NL West. The roster has also been strengthened by the arrival of Tarik Skubal, while Blake Snell is expected back from the injured list.
The concern is less about whether the Dodgers can survive one poor week and more about how long their sloppy baseball continues. Roberts had already identified the solution before Friday’s defeat.
“We’ve just got to play better,” he said. “I just feel like with the talent we have, we’ve just got to play good baseball and it’ll take care of itself. It always does.”
The division lead gives the Dodgers time. Seven straight losses mean they can no longer afford to assume the turnaround will simply happen by itself.
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