Kyle Tucker's walk-off single lifts Dodgers to comeback win over Marlins

Maddie Lee, Los Angeles Times on Apr 28, 2026

Published in Baseball

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The Dodgers’ 5-4 win over the Miami Marlins on Monday was a reminder that even rotation leader Yoshinobu Yamamoto is going to have laborious starts, and the Dodgers’ bullpen will be tested in the wake of closer Edwin Díaz’ elbow surgery.

It met the challenge Monday, giving the Dodgers a chance for a walk-off win.

Yamamoto had his shortest outing of the season. In five innings, he allowed four runs (three earned runs). He issued four walks, doubling his previous season high, and was already at 87 pitches when reliever Alex Vesia replaced him.

Vesia and Tanner Scott, both high-leverage arms, each threw hitless innings, buying time for their offense to mount a comeback. But the Dodgers squandered a bases-loaded opportunity in the bottom of the seventh inning, stranding all three runners.

Manager Dave Roberts called in Edgardo Henriquez next, and he retired the side in order. Then lefty Jake Eder faced the minimum in the ninth, thanks to an inning-ending double play.

The Dodgers’ offense again threatened in the ninth, drawing a pair of walks to open the inning. Designated hitter Shohei Ohtani drove an RBI double into the right-field corner to cut the Marlins’ lead to one. And after Marlins closer Pete Fairbanks intentionally walked Freddie Freeman in a 3-0 count, he walked off the mound with an apparent injury.

Right-hander Tyler Phillips replaced Fairbanks, facing Will Smith, who was back in the lineup Monday after a two-day hiatus with back tightness. Smith struck out, but Kyle Tucker delivered a two-run single to center field to secure the victory.

His teammates swarmed him just past first base.

Even with Díaz’s recovery going smoothly since his operation Wednesday to remove five loose bodies from his right elbow, he is expected to be out through the All-Star break.

Díaz said Monday that he’s known about the loose bodies in his elbow since 2012, the beginning of his pro career.

Last week in Colorado was the first time they’d affected him. He yielded three runs without recording an out on April 19. And he told the team his arm felt “weird.”

Before the game Monday, he described the feeling as “tired and tight.”

A week earlier, Díaz was unavailable for four straight games, after he reported fatigue in his knee. His legs felt “good” in Colorado, Díaz said.

He went out for imaging, which suggested that the loose bodies in his elbow were to blame for the discomfort in his arm. Díaz said he was confident the operation would resolve the problem.

“The tightness and the soreness was where the loose body was,” Díaz said. “So that’s why we ended up getting the surgery because it was in the same spot I’ve always had them.”

He’s targeting after the All-Star break for his return. So, the Dodgers will have to come up with an alternate plan for the ninth inning for the next two-and-a-half months.

“That sucks to miss the first half with the team,” Díaz said. “I’m new with this team. But that’s something I can’t control. Everyone here is supporting me. All of my teammates they’re supporting me, they’re happy that I’m doing way better than before. They just can’t wait to see me on the mound in the second half.

“They say, take your time, we need you in October. But I want to come back as soon as possible and help this team to win games.”

He hadn’t yet had his stitches removed but expected to resume playing catch in a couple weeks.

“My arm is feeling way better than it did on Sunday,” he said. “That’s a good sign. Right now, just a couple days after surgery, I can move my arm really good. My range of motion is coming back to normal. So that’s something I like, and just get stronger and be ready for the second half.”

Díaz, his results skewed by two unhealthy outings, landed on the injured list with a 10.50 ERA, the worst on the team. But his presence at the back end of the bullpen had a ripple effect, pushing each of his fellow relievers up an inning in close games.

The Dodgers have moved to a closer-by-committee approach in his absence.

“We’ve still got to win the game,” Scott said Friday. “I mean, we’ve got a good enough bullpen that we should win games.”

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