PHOENIX â The season was supposed to be over, right?
The World Series champion was crowned in August.
All that remained for the Los Angeles Dodgers was planning that World Series parade route.
Well, it has been a week since the Dodgers acquired two-time Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal.
And they have yet to win a game.
Really.
They were walked off Friday night by the Arizona Diamondbacks, with Edwin Diaz blowing the save in their 4-3 loss.
And just like that, the Dodgers have lost seven consecutive games for the first time this season, outscored 46-25.
It took nearly a month before the Dodgers lost their seventh game of the season, and now, they have lost seven games in eight days, suffering two sweeps and now trying to avoid a third one.
Certainly, the Dodgers are in no real danger of blowing a 7œ-game lead in the National League West over the Diamondbacks.
They are sitting comfortably in first place, and have absolutely no worries theyâll win the division.
But suddenly, instead of having the best record in baseball, they have only the third-best in the NL, trailing Milwaukee and Atlanta.
If the season ended today, theyâd be forced to play the wild-card round against the No. 6 seed, which would be the Philadelphia Phillies.
âA loss is a loss,ââ Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said calmly, âbut to get walked off never feels good. We didnât play a clean game, a great game on either side of the baseball, but we did enough to put ourselves in position to win the game.
âUnfortunately, we couldnât do it.ââ
It was Diaz, their $69 million closer, who blew the game.
He missed 85 games this year after undergoing arthroscopic elbow surgery in April, has come back and pitched four times, and hardly looks like the same All-Star pitcher. He has pitched three innings and given up six hits, four runs with four strikeouts and two walks.
And, yes, a blown save when he left a slider hanging over the plate to No. 9 hitter Ryan Waldschmidt, who smacked a 90-mph slider over the middle of the plate into the center-field seats.
âIâm just trying to be perfect with that pitch,ââ Diaz said, âand Iâm just missing right down the middle. Iâve got to be better than that. Iâm a big-league pitcher, so I've got to make pitches. Next time when I come into the game, Iâve got to do better.ââ
Diaz, who signed a three-year, $69 million contract, the largest average salary for a reliever in baseball history, insists he feels healthy. He was still throwing his fastball 97 mph, and pretty much where he wanted. But itâs that bread-and-butter pitch, the slider, thatâs betraying him.
âI think that everything what Iâve been doing is good,ââ Diaz said, âbut I donât know when I get into the game, Iâm missing my (slider) right in the middle. ⊠Iâve got a good fastball, but my slider, thatâs my strikeout pitch.
âI got to keep working. Iâm still positive. Iâve just got to do my job better.ââ
The Dodgers are trying to stay positive, too, but know that if Diaz doesnât have his slider, heâs only an ordinary reliever. And if heâs only ordinary, the Dodgers have to find someone else who can close out games.
âI just think he just hasnât had the feel for that pitch,ââ Roberts said, âsince he got back. ⊠I think it obviously sucks to go through it, but heâs working hard to figure some things out. But itâs one of those things that itâs a little bit tougher when youâre trying to work through it and youâre at the back end of a game.
âIt doesnât feel good, but I know the track record that heâs working hard. Heâs not going to run from it. Itâs one of those things that youâve got to kind of throw him into it, knowing heâs healthy, and work himself out of it.ââ
The Dodgers are finding themselves in the same situation as a year ago. They acquired Diaz in the first place because Tanner Scott, who signed a four-year, $72 million contract the previous winter, couldnât handle the closerâs role, blowing 10 saves. Now, theyâve got $141 million invested in closers and are still looking for the right guy.
When Roberts was asked if he would consider removing Diaz from the closerâs role and using someone else, he was rather blunt.
âI think honestly,ââ Roberts said, âyouâve got to look at the options, and see the way some of these guys are throwing. Theyâre not throwing great, either. Weâve got to keep guys in their roles that theyâve earned, and try to get them on a run the way we were a few weeks ago.
âSo, I just donât think thereâs a clear-cut alternative.ââ
The Dodgers wish that was their only problem these days. Their offense has been abysmal, too. They didnât produce their first hit off D-backs starter Merrill Kelly until Tommy Edmanâs infield single in the sixth inning. Their only extra-base hit was Andy Pagesâ go-ahead homer in the eighth inning. Their star quintet of Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, Max Muncy, Mookie Betts and Kyle Tucker went 2-for-16.
Tucker, who was supposed to be their solution in right field â they gave him a stagging four-year, $240 million contract â is hitting just .244 with 10 homers and a .719 OPS. He was summoned by Roberts into Roberts' office before the game just to make sure his confidence isnât eroding.
âI think heâs in a good spot, I really do,ââ Roberts said. âIt hasnât been what anyone had hoped for up to this point, but for me, thereâs been some signs breaking. Thereâs still a lot of baseball left, important baseball to play. But I think heâs in a great headspace.ââ
Really, Roberts can say the same about his entire team. Thereâs no panic. Theyâve got Skubal now, who will make his first start at Dodger Stadium in a Dodger uniform on Monday. Fellow two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell, who has pitched only three innings all season, is scheduled to start Tuesday. And Roki Sasaki turned in a strong outing Friday, giving up just four hits and two runs in six innings.
The Dodgers have endured rough stretches plenty of times through this dynasty. They lost seven games in a row last July. In 2017, the year they reached the World Series for the first time since 1988, they went through a 1-16 stretch. And still won 104 games.
âI remember,ââ Roberts said. âIt felt like we would never win another game. Well, we did win another game.
âAnd you know what? I know weâll win another game now, too.ââ
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Panic time for Dodgers? Losing streak hits 7 as Edwin Diaz blows save
