Alexis Diaz News: Gets call in ninth inning Friday

Diaz earned a hold against the Padres on Friday, tossing a scoreless two-thirds of an inning while allowing one hit and striking out two batters.

Despite the fact that Diaz hadn't notched a save or even a hold over his first seven outings with the Dodgers, manager Dave Roberts summoned him Friday in an intensely high-leverage situation -- Diaz inherited a one-run lead in the ninth inning against the Padres, who entered the contest one game ahead of Los Angeles for first place in the NL West. Though Diaz allowed a one-out single to Jackson Merrill, the veteran reliever impressed overall, striking out the other two batters he faced while firing 14 of 20 pitches for strikes. The Dodgers' late-innings bullpen situation remains unsettled with closer Tanner Scott (elbow) along with top setup men Kirby Yates (back), Michael Kopech (knee) and Brock Stewart (shoulder) all on the IL, so Roberts has been mixing things up in recent weeks. However, Scott, Yates and Kopech are all nearing returns, so Diaz may not be the best pickup for speculative save opportunities moving forward.