Roberts to stick with Diaz as Dodgers' closer after latest meltdown - ESPN

LOS ANGELES — A Dodger Stadium crowd of 46,105 serenaded closer Edwin Diaz with a loud chorus of boos as he walked off the mound late Thursday night.

Diaz had inherited a two-run ninth-inning lead against the first-place Milwaukee Brewers and watched it evaporate. The Los Angeles Dodgers ultimately lost 5-4 on a night when Roki Sasaki overcame bouts of wildness and five high-leverage relievers were used after him.

The second-to-last of those, Diaz, has now blown three saves in his past four appearances. His ERA, 14 appearances into a $69 million contract, is 11.57.

In spite of that, the Dodgers plan to stick with him as their closer.

«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, it sucks.»

Seven appearances into his Dodgers tenure, Diaz underwent surgery to remove loose bodies from his right elbow and missed more than three months. Upon return, he immediately took over as the closer. Trouble followed soon after.

When Diaz checked into a one-run game in Phoenix on Friday, he surrendered a two-run, walk-off home run to Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Ryan Waldschmidt. The following night, he allowed the D-backs to tie the score on Corbin Carroll's ninth-inning triple. Diaz bounced back with a 1-2-3 ninth inning against the last-place Kansas City Royals on Monday, but the struggles reemerged three days later.

Trailing 4-2 in the top of the ninth, the Brewers got back-to-back one-out singles from Joey Ortiz and David Hamilton on fastballs near the middle of the strike zone, putting runners on the corners. Jackson Chourio and Garrett Mitchell followed with base hits to right field off sliders on the edges, tying the score. After Diaz struck out Gary