Dodgers: Edwin Diaz earns his first save in Los Angeles

Pascal Harvey
Dodgers: Edwin Diaz earns his first save in Los Angeles
Credit: MLB.com

In their season opener on Thursday, the Los Angeles Dodgers didn't need their new acquisition, Edwin Diaz, to get the better of the Arizona Diamondbacks, winning 8-2. Yesterday, the story was quite different, and Diaz—accompanied by a real trumpet player on his walk to the mound—stole the show by earning his first win in his new uniform. The Dodgers won 5-4.

He struck out two batters in one inning of work.

Diaz and Kyle Tucker were the team's major offseason acquisitions, making the California squad even more formidable in their quest to win a third consecutive World Series.

Diaz's presence in the bullpen gives the Dodgers a true closer—a weakness that has been evident for several years now. As a bonus, fans will be treated to a real spectacle every time Dave Roberts' top reliever takes the mound to do his job: closing out the game.

The Dodgers organization has raised the bar by having a real trumpet player mark the reliever's entrance. In New York, Diaz took the mound to the sound of a recording of the famous track by Australian DJ Timmy Trumpet, and the reactions were already intense. Yesterday, watching the spectacle, I got goosebumps.

Not content with being the two-time defending champions, the Los Angeles Dodgers found another way to make headlines by treating their fans and baseball enthusiasts in general to a show featuring their new closer, Edwin Diaz.

Speaking of new developments: It was thanks to Kyle Tucker that Diaz took the mound in the ninth inning with a chance to earn a save, having given his team the lead with an RBI single in the previous inning. Tucker drove in the winning run to the delight of the 51,540 fans packed into Dodger Stadium.

Alex Freeland and Mookie Betts capitalized on this second win in two games against the Diamondbacks to hit their first home runs of the season. Betts's home run allowed his team to score three of their four runs in the third inning. It was the visiting team's starter, Ryne Nelson, who gave up the home runs to Freeland and Betts.

Emmet Sheehan was named by his manager to start the game for the Dodgers. His outing will not go down in history, as the 26-year-old right-hander allowed four earned runs on five hits over three and one-third innings on the mound. Edgardo Henriquez earned his first relief win, pitching the eighth inning.

As for Shohei Ohtani, he didn't get a hit, but he did score a run. Over two games, the Japanese slugger is batting .167.

Tonight, it will be Tyler Glasnow's turn to take the mound for the Dodgers. The tall right-hander will face off against Eduardo Rodriguez.

Created by humans, assisted by AI.

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