Dodgers make bold move on Reds’ former All-Star reliever Alexis Diaz after 4-game losing streak

The Los Angeles Dodgers are going through a surprise slump, compounded by a series sweep against the Houston Astros over the weekend. Following a blowout loss against the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday, the Dodgers made a bold move to strengthen the bullpen.

The Dodgers bullpen has been utilized more than manager Dave Roberts would have liked this season because of injuries to several starters, including Tyler Glasnow and Blake Snell.

The bullpen was called into action early on Monday after ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto failed to make it out of the first inning in the series opener against the Brewers.

Following a 9-1 beatdown, the Dodgers called up veteran All-Star reliever Alexis Diaz. He was traded to the Dodgers by the Cincinnati Reds in late May and has been plying his trade with the team's Triple-A affiliate since.

He was added to the roster ahead of Tuesday's game against the Brewers with the series on the line. Diaz posted an alarming 12.00 ERA for the Reds before his trade this season. He joins the Dodgers bullpen after a 9.64 ERA in six appearances for Oklahoma City.

"There’s been some good, some not so good," Roberts said of Diaz. "Just trying to be consistent with the delivery. I think the arm still works. The stuff is still good. But the consistency of strike-throwing is what we haven’t seen yet from Alexis."

Dodgers slump to fifth consecutive loss, drop second straight series

The Dodgers' losing streak extended to five games after a 3-1 loss to Milwaukee on Tuesday. Veteran ace Clayton Kershaw went six innings deep, conceding two earned runs.

The Dodgers pitched Alex Vesia and Kirby Yates from the bullpen. While the duo kept the Brewers down to just one run, the offense failed to back them, slumping to a second consecutive series defeat.

Brewers rookie sensation Jacob Misiorowski was lights out from the mound. Although he conceded a solo home run to Shohei Ohtani in the first inning, he pitched five scoreless innings to keep the Dodgers at bay. He ended the night with six innings, conceding one run and 12 strikeouts.

About the author

Chaitanya Prakash is an editor who covers US Sports at Sportskeeda. His first brush with sportswriting was in 2012 when the greatest football manager of all time, Sir Alex Ferguson, bid farewell to the beautiful game.

Although having started out professionally as a cricket writer in 2022, Chaitanya's curiosity and indiscriminate interest in all sports in general eventually introduced him to America's favorite pastime.

While Chaitanya's favorite player from the current crop is the dynamic Venezuelan Ronald Acuna Jr., his all-time favorite, however, is Pedro Martinez, for his self-belief and consistency. He also rates Jose Bautista's iconic bat flip in 2015 as his favorite moment in baseball history.

Chaitanya specializes in reporting on technical aspects of the game or analyzing patterns behind specific plays. He also likes pondering over players' self-assessments following the conclusion of a game as it helps him get an idea of how they think about the sport in general.

When not cheering for his favorites across sports, Chaitanya likes being transported to the past through a good war documentary or a historical documentary in general.

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Edited by Chaitanya Prakash