Edwin Díaz did not wait for the ninth inning to make his October introduction with the Dodgers. With Los Angeles down a run in the sixth inning of Sunday’s National League Division Series Game 2, the familiar “Narco” entrance music rolled through Dodger Stadium and Díaz came out throwing like a closer again.
The Dodgers lost 3-2 to the Braves, evening the series at one game apiece before the clubs head to Atlanta. Still, Díaz’s clean inning stood as a needed bright spot for a bullpen that could use his old late-game bite as the stakes climb.
Quick facts
- Díaz made his Dodgers postseason debut in Game 2 of the NLDS.
- He threw a perfect sixth inning with two strikeouts on 12 pitches.
- His fastest pitch reached 100.8 mph, his highest velocity in a game since Game 4 of the 2024 NLDS.
- He produced three pitches at 100 mph or better, his most in one appearance since September 2024.
- Los Angeles and Atlanta are tied 1-1 entering Game 3 on Tuesday at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT.
Díaz faced the heart of a tough assignment and made it look brief. He opened by striking out Austin Riley on three pitches, beginning with a 99.5 mph four-seamer before using consecutive sliders to freeze the Braves third baseman.
Pinch-hitter Mike Yastrzemski followed, and Díaz overpowered him with two fastballs in triple digits. The second one registered 100.8 mph, then Díaz got Drake Baldwin to fly out after also showing him a 100-plus mph heater.
For a reliever signed to a three-year, $69 million deal during the offseason to lead the bullpen, this was not the role originally imagined. But the season forced a different route.
Díaz underwent surgery in April to remove loose bodies from his right elbow and missed three months, returning July 29. Neck inflammation put him back on the injured list in August, and when he returned in the middle of September, he was used in lower-leverage spots while continuing to iron out his mechanics.
He said the work of the past week and a half has started to show up on the mound. Díaz pointed to the shape of his slider and the movement on his fastball as signs that his delivery is getting back in sync.
“It felt amazing,” Díaz said. “That’s why I came here — to help this team win and pitch in big spots. I want to keep getting the ball and doing my job.”
He also said his arm and body feel good, a meaningful development after the interrupted summer. In his view, postseason baseball changes the energy around every appearance, whether the call comes in the fifth inning or the ninth.
“I was throwing strikes, letting the ball rip and doing my job,” Díaz said.
Manager Dave Roberts saw the outing as more than one tidy inning in a frustrating loss. He called Díaz one of the encouraging takeaways from the night and said the right-hander handled a major moment exactly as needed.
Roberts has used a committee in the late innings since Díaz’s absence, but he left little doubt that the door is open for Díaz to reclaim the closer’s assignments during this postseason.
“Absolutely, you could see him closing,” Roberts said. “I could see him closing.”
Díaz is not fixated on the label. He said every inning has weight in October and that he is prepared for whatever situation the Dodgers choose, with the trumpets serving as an extra jolt whether he arrives early or late.
The series now moves to Atlanta, where the Dodgers will play Game 3 on Tuesday. After a season of stops, resets and mechanical work, Díaz gave Los Angeles a hard-throwing reminder that its bullpen picture may be changing at the right time.
