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Yoshinobu Yamamoto delivered six innings of four-hit ball as the Dodgers topped the Brewers 3-1 on Friday night, though Edwin Díaz made things interesting again late, per the LA Times staff report. It’s now two straight outings where Díaz has looked shaky in the closer role — and despite Dave Roberts publicly backing him earlier this series, the results are putting that loyalty under a microscope.

Yamamoto continues to be one of the most reliable arms in our rotation. The right-hander signed a 12-year, $325 million deal before the 2024 season and dealt with injury struggles during parts of his first two years in the majors, but 2026 has been a different story. When he’s on, he misses bats, limits hard contact, and works efficiently deep into games. Six innings on four hits is exactly the kind of start this team needs while we wait for Shohei Ohtani to make his way back to the rotation. Yamamoto’s consistency has been a stabilizing force, and outings like this one remind you why the Dodgers committed that kind of money to him. He’s pitching like a true frontline starter right now.

Díaz, on the other hand, is becoming a real concern. The former Mets closer was brought in to shore up the back end of our bullpen, and his electric stuff — that slider in particular — can still be devastating when it’s right. But “when it’s right” is doing a lot of heavy lifting in that sentence lately. After blowing the save earlier in this Brewers series, he was shaky again Friday in a non-save situation. Two rough outings in a row is a pattern, not a blip. Roberts said after the blown save that he’s sticking with Díaz as the closer, and I understand the reasoning — you don’t panic after one bad night from a guy with his track record. But two bad nights? Three? There’s a line somewhere, and we’re approaching it. The Dodgers have other options in that bullpen, and at some point the conversation shifts from “supporting your guy” to “costing yourself games in August.”

The good news is we got the win regardless. A 3-1 final means the offense did enough and the rest of the pitching staff held things together. That matters in a series against a competitive Brewers club. Milwaukee isn’t going away quietly in the NL, and banking wins against them now could pay dividends down the stretch.

Big picture, this game is a snapshot of where the Dodgers are right now: the rotation is in a good place with Yamamoto leading the way, the lineup is producing enough to win, but the bullpen — specifically the ninth inning — is a question mark. If Díaz can find his footing and get back to the version of himself that made him one of the most dominant relievers in baseball, this team is built to make a deep October run. If he can’t, the front office and Roberts will have to make a tough call sooner rather than later. For now, we’ll take the W and move on to tomorrow.

Source(s): Staff (LA Times) | First reported: August 15, 2026 5:10 AM UTC

God Bless and Go Dodgers