Several factors could excuseEdwin Diaz’s performance Sunday.
Diaz was pitching for the first time in nine days. He was pitching in a renowned hitter’s paradise at Coors Field. He was pitching in a non-save situation.
Common sense might suggest this was nothing to be overly concerned about, but considering Diaz’s oversized importance to the Dodgers,the $69 million closer’s mile-high implosion sounded alarm bells.
“Today was a tough evaluation,” manager Dave Roberts told reporters in Colorado. “I mean, it really was. Because I know what it’s supposed to look like, and when it doesn’t look like that, it gets a little concerning, really.”
Diaz touched 97 mph a couple of times, but overall his fastball velocity remained down, which made Roberts wonder if something was physically wrong with him. Roberts said he would make it a point to speak to him.
Roberts added, “I gotta know more.”
Especially with Diaz failing to record a single out in the eighth inning of a 9-6 loss to the Rockies.
As inconsistent as Roki Sasaki remains, he alone can’t sink the Dodgers. But an out-of-form Diaz could alter the trajectory of their season, which explains why Roberts found his eighth-inning cameo as disquieting as he did.
Witha combination of knee problems and absence of save opportunitiesresulting in more than a week of inactivity for the 32-year-old Diaz, Roberts was determined to get the All-Star right-hander back on the mound. Except the pitcher he called into the game wasn’t the same pitcher the Dodgers thought they signed.
The first pitch Diaz threw was a low fastball that Willi Castro singled to right field. Diaz proceeded to walk Kyle Karros on five pitches, each of the balls a slider that missed by a wide margin.
Source: California Post – Breaking California News, Photos & Videos
