LOS ANGELES — By day, the new centerpiece of the bullpen was fine-tuning a comeback.
By night, Dodgers relievers showed exactly how they have managed to stay elite despite being without one of the best closers in the game.
As right-hander Edwin Diaz makes progress toward returning after a procedure to remove loose bodies from his throwing elbow, the rest of the bullpen continues to deliver.
After Diaz threw in a live hitting session on Wednesday afternoon, the bullpen combined for three scoreless innings to finish off a 4-3 victory over the Colorado Rockies. Left-hander Tanner Scott turned an 11-pitch ninth inning into his 13th save, while striking out the final two batters.
More additions have arrived as Diaz has been away.
Brock Stewart is back from a bone spur in his foot, after dealing with shoulder inflammation last season immediately after he was acquired from the Minnesota Twins at the trade deadline.
Evan Phillips returned this week after more than a year away following Tommy John surgery.
That duo has been added into a mix of effective young pitchers that includes right-hander Edgardo Henriquez, left-hander Jack Dreyer, surprise World Series hero Will Klein and Kyle Hurt, who returned from his own Tommy John procedure.
Trusted left-handers Alex Vesia and Tanner Scott have delivered more like their career norms. Scott struggled in the closer’s role last season, finishing with a 4.74 ERA in 61 appearances, but he has been on a redemption tour with a 2.63 ERA and 13 saves in 15 chances. He had 10 blown saves last season.
While Scott was brought in last year to upgrade the bullpen on a massive four-year, $72 million contract, Diaz was added this past offseason on a three-year, $69 million deal.
“The bullpen’s been really good,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of the group’s 3.74 ERA, which is the fifth-best mark in the National League and eighth best in MLB. “I think the ability for our guys to just be ready when called up, that’s kind of the overarching (mindset) – not having to have a certain role and pin me in a box so I feel I can now put them in good spots.”
As free spending as the Dodgers are with a $302 million payroll, not everybody can be paid on high-dollar deals. Henriquez, Dreyer, Klein and Hurt have been high-yield low-cost performers.
Diaz is only a part of the $115.2 million the Dodgers currently have on the injured list, along with another right-handed reliever in Blake Treinen. Ben Casparius has made just five appearances this season, while Brusdar Graterol has not pitched in either of the past two seasons.
Starting pitchers Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow remain out, while catcher Will Smith and utility man Kiké Hernandez are out on the position player side.
Snell is close to a return and so is Diaz, who is set to begin a minor league rehab assignment in the coming days. Wednesday was his second opportunity to face live hitters and although he did struggle with his command, getting into game situations is the test he needs.
“It was tough at first, getting that surgery done, not being able to help this team to win early in the season,” Diaz said. “But as the process began, everything went smooth. I did a really good rehab (without) any step back. We went in the right direction and now we’re here just waiting for them to give me the approval to start doing a rehab assignment.”
Even when Diaz returns, Henriquez figures to keep occupying high-leverage situations. Despite a fastball that can reach 103 mph, Henriquez struggled to prevent hard contact last season.
This year, he has developed late movement on that fastball, while his slider has more break. According to MLB Statcast, Henriquez’s slider had 3.3 inches of horizontal break last season and 6.4 inches this season. He had below average slider movement across baseball last season and is 2.6 inches above average this season.
“He’s been great,” Roberts said of Henriquez, who is 4-0 with a 2.43 ERA in what is already a career-best 35 appearances and 37 innings.
Where opponents had a .236 batting average against Henriquez last season, it is down to .161 this season. His exit velocity is down and so is launch angle, not to mention barrel percentage.
“We’re putting him in a lot of different leverage spots,” Roberts said. “He’s come a long way. … He’s in the trust tree and he’s earned it.”
Klein made just two postseason appearances last season, but he helped get the Dodgers to the finish line in Game 3 of the World Series with an epic four scoreless innings to finish off a 6-5 victory in 18 innings.
It has led to an expanded role in his first full major league season after he was acquired in an under-the-radar trade with the Seattle Mariners in June of last year. Klein is 3-3 with a 2.27 ERA and has the first two saves of his career in a career-high 31 appearances.
Klein’s improvement has come from a slider the Dodgers’ staff reshaped last season.
“We’re all just trying to put up zeroes and everybody has been great,” Klein said. “It’s a good group. Everyone gets along. They put up their zeroes and I think I can do the same thing. We’re all comfortable with each other and it definitely helps the chemistry.”
UP NEXT
Diamondbacks (TBD) at Dodgers (Shohei Ohtani, 8-2, 1.79 ERA), Friday, 7:10 p.m., SportsNet LA, 570 AM, 1020 AM