PHOENIX – The team accused of ruining baseball extended its futility on Friday when the reigning back-to-back World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers dropped their seventh straight game.They trudged off the field after their struggling $69 million closer blew a save and gave up a walk-off two-run blast to sink their fortunes further. A 4-3 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks matched Los Angeles’ longest losing streak in nine seasons.This time they were done in by Edwin Díaz, who hung a slider that Diamondbacks rookie Ryan Waldschmidt did not miss. Andy Pages — whose eighth-inning home run gave the Dodgers a short-lived 3-2 lead — gave Waldschmidt’s ball a halfhearted effort before watching it fly into the Chase Field seats.“We did enough to put ourselves in a position to win a game, and unfortunately, we couldn’t finish it,” manager Dave Roberts said.So the Dodgers’ foul stretch sunk to new depths. They now lead the National League West by 7 1/2 games, one month after holding a 14-game cushion in the division. This is not a death knell; the Dodgers lost seven games last July — their longest streak since September 2017 — and still beat the Toronto Blue Jays in the World Series. But each loss heightens concern.The years-long outcry over the Dodgers’ aggressive acquisitions only escalated this week when they swung a deal to acquire two-time Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal. Skubal has yet to see his new team win a game. Los Angeles’ spending this winter preceded the rage.Díaz’s acquisition further cemented the Dodgers as checkbook bullies, addressing their hole at closer by signing the best one available. But after Friday, he now boasts an ERA of 11.00 in his first 11 Dodgers appearances, as his 2026 season was interrupted by midseason elbow surgery to remove loose bodies. He has appeared in four games since returning and allowed a run in three of them. His fastball velocity, down to start the season, has started to tick up, but his slider is not right.It’s a pitch Díaz needs to survive. With a runner on second and one out, Díaz threw three two-strike sliders to get a whiff from Waldschmidt. Díaz left the last one down the middle, and Waldschmidt crushed it.