Díaz (3 ER, 0 outs) continues to struggle as Dodgers seek answers

DENVER -- Dodgers manager Dave Roberts didn’t need a weatherman to tell him which way the wind was blowing with closer Edwin Díaz.

Over his last two outings, Díaz has allowed six runs on seven hits and two walks in one inning. Those most recent appearances have been separated by nine days, and Díaz struggled even more in the second, failing to record an out against the Rockies in the eighth inning while allowing three runs on three hits and a walk as the Dodgers lost, 9-6.

“Today was a tough evaluation,” Roberts said. “I know what it's supposed to look like, and when it doesn't look like that, it gets a little concerning, really. So, I'll have a conversation with him.”

Díaz's four-seam fastball has averaged from 97.2 to 99.1 mph over the last four seasons, but he is only averaging 95.7 mph so far this season, and he was as low as 92.8 mph on Sunday at Coors Field. He has only thrown six slower fastballs in his career.

“Our training staff and pitching guys will make sure that there is nothing to it,” Roberts said of the velo dip. “Because the radar gun has been consistent, and his velocity has been consistent, and it wasn't there today. I need to know more.”

Díaz hasn’t approached Roberts with any issues, and in fact made a point of telling his manager he wanted to get in the game Sunday, regardless of the circumstances.

“Obviously, he hasn't pitched in [nine] days, so I'm certain there's some rust,” Roberts said, also attributing the poor performance to being in a non-save situation and making for an unusual outing for Díaz. “Talking to him today, he wanted to pitch regardless, so I think it's just one of those things -- hopefully it's that he just hadn't pitched in a while.”

Roberts acknowledged a discrepancy between what he hears and what he sees.

“I'm just going with what the training staff and the player tells me, and you’ve got to trust them and believe that they feel good,” Roberts said. “A veteran player like him -- no one should know his body better than he does. Obviously today, it just didn't look sharp.”