LOS ANGELES, CA — Where else would there be a sweeter and better Hollywood ending than in Los Angeles?
To begin Wednesday night’s action at Dodger Stadium? A brilliant performance by Dodgers left-handed starter Eric Lauer (6-5, 4.50 ERA).
And to end it? A welcome save by Edwin Díaz, Naguabo, Puerto Rico in the ninth inning on his Bobblehead Night to lead Los Angeles to a 4-2 win over Seattle in game two of a three game series.
“I feel great,” the 32-year-old said following his fifth save of the season. “I think my pitching was really good, velo-wise, shape-wise, I was throwing strikes. So nothing to worry for me. Just keep grinding, keep getting better.”
It was Díaz’s first appearance since April 19th as the three-time LatinoMVP Reliever of the Year rehabilitated successfully and returned from arthroscopic surgery which removed loose bodies from his pitching elbow.
“As soon as I got to the mound, it was, ‘Let’s go. Let’s make pitches. Let’s win the game.’ And that’s what I did,” he said, adding, “My family was really happy. They told me to send some bobbleheads back to Puerto Rico.”
Fans in attendance for Wednesday’s Mariners-Dodgers game went home with a LA win and Edwin Díaz bobblehead on the night of the three-time LatinoMVP Reliever of the Year’s return to the mound – Image Credit: Latino Sports
Before the trumpets had sounded, Lauer was outstanding, working through a Mariners team that had hit five home runs the night before. At one point, he retired 16 batters in a row, and left with a line of six innings pitched, one hit, zero runs, one walk and four strikeouts (87 pitches, 55 strikes).
The one hit allowed by Lauer, a Cole Young single, didn’t mean much as Young was picked off first to end the second inning. In facing only 20 batters across six frames, Lauer gave the Dodger bullpen a much needed rest.
For Seattle’s right-handed hurler Emerson Hancock (6-5, 3.26 ERA), Andy Pages, Havana, Cuba, got the best of him, connecting on a first inning 372-foot home run into the left field seats for his first out of the All-Star break and 18th of 2026.
The 25-year-old right-handed slugger went 3-4 and now sits at 110 hits, 18 HRs, and 71 RBI on the year with a batting average of .267. Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman, in between Pages in LA’s lineup, each collected two hits and one RBI.
During All-Star Media Day in Philadelphia, Andy Pages told Latino Sports how his first half of 2026 with 17 HRs was a result of him making adjustments to maximize his ability at the plate – Image Credit: Latino Sports
Based on that damage and more, Hancock would leave with a line of five innings pitched, eight hits, three runs, all earned, one walk and five strikeouts (92 pitches, 64 strikes).
The crowd of 46,065 was also treated to one of the best defensive plays of the year by Teoscar Hernández, Cotui, Dominican Republic, where he climbed the bullpen fence in left field to pull down what could have been a two run home run that would have made it a 4-3 score heading into the ninth inning.
All that being said, it was a nice feeling for LA to have Lauer pitch this well and a big lift to see the return of one of the best closers in the game in Díaz take the mound in a tight game and secure the save as we head down the stretch of this 2026 regular season.
“Taking out those bone chips or whatever they were, they looked like shark teeth,” manager Dave Roberts said of Díaz’s injury before Wednesday’s 4-2 win. “It was compromising his extension, the feel and all that stuff. He says he hasn’t felt this good in quite some time.”
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