The Los Angeles Dodgers may closing in on their franchise-record 13th straight postseason appearance. But manager Dave Roberts isn’t exactly pleased with the way they are going into the postseason.
Roberts issued a challenge to the Dodgers bullpen after they allowed four runs over the final four innings of their 6-5 extra-inning loss to the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday night at Dodger Stadium.
LA still leads the San Diego Padres by two games for the NL West lead with 12 games to play, and both clubs are veritable locks to reach the playoffs. Still, the Dodgers appear locked into the wild-card round as the likely No. 3 division winner, since they trail the Phillies by 5.5 games for the No. 2 seed.
The Dodgers are just 6-7 in September and are 28-34 over their past 62 games since July 4.
What Did Dave Roberts Say About The Dodgers Bullpen?
The Dodgers bullpen will get credit for a job well done Monday night, though that is a misleading factor.
Emmett Sheehan, who was LA’s bulk pitcher after left-hander Anthony Banda “started” the game and faced three batters as an opener, was exceptional, limiting the Phils to just one run and one hit, while walking three and striking out seven in 5 2/3 innings.
Yet, as has become the case for Dodgers fans, the bullpen was ineffective yet again.
Ironically, Tanner Scott — public enemy No. 1 among LA fans for his seemingly endless struggles as its closer — was the most effective reliever Monday night. He threw a scoreless ninth inning that allowed the Dodgers to tie the game on Andy Pages’ long, dramatic solo homer in the ninth.
“It’s trying to see which guys step up,” Roberts said. “Tanner, for example, the last two outings has been very good, and it’s really good to see.”
But Jack Dreyer blew a save in the seventh inning when he gave up a two-run, go-ahead blast to Weston Wilson. Alex Vesia surrendered a long, solo homer to Bryce Harper, and Blake Treinen took his third loss in his past four outings by giving up an unearned run in the 10th.
Plus, even Banda, who is traditionally used as a high-leverage reliever but opened the game to face lefties Harper and Kyle Schwarber, went just 1/3 innings and served up a long ball to Schwarber that put the Dodgers behind 1-0 before they even stepped into the batter’s box.
“Those guys were rested and ready to go,” Roberts said. “I had the guys that I wanted, and that doesn’t always work out even with that.”
How Will Dave Roberts Manage The Dodgers’ Bullpen In The Playoffs?
The Dodgers starting staff is fairly set, with Shohei Ohtani, Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Clayton Kershaw likely to Nos. 1-4 in a postseason series.
But that leaves a couple of openings, potentially for hard-throwing righty Tyler Glasnow to work as a high-leverage reliever. Plus, Roki Sasaki is coming back from injury and also seems likely to work out of relief next month.
With all that in mind, Roberts is auditioning relievers for high-leverage spots and seeing who rises to the occasion.
“Just trying to see who is going to seize the opportunity,” Roberts said. “They’re going to continue to get opportunities, and we’ll see how it plays out.”
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