Dodgers' 7-Game Losing Streak Discussed by Dave Roberts After Diamondbacks' Walk-Off HR

Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts says he felt his team had done enough to win Friday until Edwin Díaz's final pitch of the game against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Ryan Waldschmidt connected with that pitch for a two-run walkoff home run that stretch the Dodgers' losing streak to a season-high seven games.

"A loss is a loss, but to get walked off never feels good," Roberts said Friday (h/t SportsNet LA). "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. And, unfortunately, we couldn't finish it."

The Dodgers were leading by one run when Díaz took the mound in the top of the ninth.

After walking his leadoff hitter, Díaz struck out one batter before allowing Waldschmidt's 411-foot homer on a slider right to the center of the zone.

Roberts said after the loss that Díaz, who came back from a three-month stint on IL in late July, hasn't "had the feel" for his slider since returning.

When asked if the Dodgers would rethink using Díaz as a closer going forward, Roberts answered: "I think, honestly, is that you've also got to look at the options, and look at the way some of these guys throwing."

"They're not throwing great either," Roberts said. "We've got to keep keeping guys in their roles that they've earned... I just don't think, right now, there's a clear-cut alternative."

This marks the first time since July 2025, and the second since 2018, the Dodgers have lost seven straight games. The club has been outscored 46-25 over this most recent stretch.

The Dodgers are hoping to get some reinforcements to their bullpen ahead of the postseason.

That could include Ben Casparius, who began a Triple-A rehab assignment expected to take around a month to complete on July 25, per MLB.com. There's also Seth Halvorsen, who was acquired from the Colorado Rockies ahead of the deadline and is currently playing for Triple-A Oklahoma City.

The Dodgers got some recent bad news regarding their reliever depth, however. The Athletic's Fabian Ardaya reported Will Klein underwent an MRI that revealed bone chips in his elbow which could potentially necessitate season-ending surgery.

Roberts could be hoping adding some reinforcements and helping Díaz continue to recover his slider will help the Dodgers down the stretch. For now, the club will focus on snapping the ongoing losing streak during a Saturday rematch against the Diamondbacks in which Yoshinobu Yamamoto is scheduled to start.