If the Los Angeles Dodgers had even an average bullpen this season, they’d likely be firmly in position to win the National League West and earn a first-round bye in the postseason.
Unfortunately, the bullpen has been nowhere close to average.
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Following yet another collapse on Tuesday night in which the Dodgers turned a 4-0 lead and no-hitter through five innings into a 9-6 loss, manager Dave Roberts was asked to dissect his bullpen’s shortcomings.
He believes the struggles have piled up due to a lack of confidence.
“They’re lacking confidence,” Roberts said to reporters after the game. “They all wanna pitch well, they all want the opportunities, and they’re not making good pitches when they need to.”
He added: “For me, I believe in the talent. But right now they just don’t have the confidence that they need to have to be consistent. And so when you’re facing a team like this that’s won a division, that’s gonna grind at-bats, you’ve gotta continue to make good pitches. And when you don’t, they’re gonna capitalize.”
Roberts removed two-way star Shohei Ohtani from the game as a pitcher after five no-hit innings. The lead evaporated before Roberts could even second-guess the decision.
After giving up nine earned runs over the final four innings of the game, the Dodgers’ bullpen ERA raised to 4.30 on the season, which ranks 20th in MLB.
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Blake Treinen, who gave up the game-winning, three-run home run in the ninth inning, was struggling to find the words to describe yet another devastating loss.
“Sometimes you look back and try to understand what’s going on. You try to pinch yourself when it’s not going well,” Treinen said. “A lot of us have had our moments this year. Sometimes there’s no words, no reasons to describe it. I know it’s frustrating to the fans. I mean, I can promise you from the bottom of my heart we’re trying our darnedest every single night. There’s nothing we haven’t done, there’s no stone we haven’t unturned. It’s not an effort thing. It’s not a preparation thing.
“It is literally just sometimes things aren’t working and I wish for their sake, for our team, our organization, our ownership that I’m better in those spots. I know that’s in the heart of my teammates too. Sometimes you just don’t have answer. You just have to find something to cling to and keep plugging away every day. Re-set your body, re-set your body and try to do the job you’re called to do tomorrow. But obviously it’s been a frustrating stretch.”
The Dodgers have just a two-game lead over the San Diego Padres in the NL West with 11 games to go. But if they have any dreams of a deep October run, they need to fix their bullpen woes sooner rather than later.
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