Diamondbacks 4, Dodgers 3: Waldschmidt Walks Off Edwin Díaz, L.A. Falls to 0-7

August 7, 2026 - Phoenix - Seven straight losses will make any closer look human. On Friday, Edwin Díaz looked beatable, and a rookie made him pay.

Ryan Waldschmidt hit a two-run homer in the ninth off Díaz, and the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-3, sending the two-time defending champions to a season-high seventh consecutive defeat.

Kelly's no-hit bid, then the leg cramp

Merrill Kelly took a no-hitter into the sixth before Tommy Edman led off with an infield single. Freddie Freeman brought home a run later in the inning on a fielder's choice to make it 2-1, and Kelly left with cramping in his right leg. The night that had been Arizona's turned into a bullpen fight.

Nolan Arenado had given the D-backs a 1-0 lead in the second with a solo shot that barely cleared Teoscar Hernández's glove in left. Corbin Carroll robbed Edman of a tying homer in the third, leaping above the right-field fence. Roki Sasaki gave Los Angeles six innings of two-run ball with five strikeouts. For a long stretch, both clubs played clean, tight baseball.

Pages puts L.A. ahead. Waldschmidt takes it back.

Edman tied it with an RBI single in the seventh. The Dodgers loaded the bases before Shohei Ohtani grounded into an inning-ending double play. Andy Pages led off the eighth with a solo homer for a 3-2 lead. That should have been the night: late power, Díaz for the ninth, series opener stolen on the road.

Díaz walked Max Kepler to start the ninth, struck out Tim Tawa, then hung a slider to Waldschmidt. The rookie drove it to left-center. It barely cleared the wall. Chase Field erupted. Díaz, a three-time All-Star, has allowed 11 earned runs in nine innings this season. Kevin Ginkel (5-3) got the win. Díaz (1-1) took the loss.

A skid that will not break

Los Angeles (69-47) still leads the NL West, but seven straight losses is the longest skid of the year and the wrong way to enter the final two months. The Cubs series, the skid after Skubal's debut, and now a walk-off in Arizona are stacking into a real stretch problem.

Arizona (62-55) stays in the wild-card mix and keeps proving it can beat the clubs above it when the late innings get weird. Waldschmidt's swing will live on highlight reels. The bullpen win is what the standings care about.

AthX Engine angle

Arizona finished with 8 AthX Engine team fantasy points, a modest total that fits a one-run walk-off more than a slugfest. Sasaki still graded out at 14 pitching FP in a loss. On nights like this, AthX Engine rewards the clean starter more than the final heroics, and the board told that truth while the scoreboard told another.

Track the Diamondbacks and Dodgers boards on the marketplace. Information only; not financial advice.

What it means

Walk-off homers off marquee closers are how rookie careers get a first chapter. Seven-game losing streaks are how defending champions get reminded that August does not care about October résumés. Arizona will take the win. Los Angeles needs the next one more than it wants to admit.

*Sources: MLB.com gameday final, ESPN recap, AthX Engine daily scoring for August 7, 2026. Information only; not financial advice.*