If there was any hope that the Los Angeles Dodgers‘ bullpen would shape into form for the postseason, it was lost as soon as the door swung open on Tuesday night. If not for the Dodgers homer-happy offense (5 HRs) and Blake Snell’s seven strong innings of work (7 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 9 K), the six outs were barely enough for the bullpen to hang on for dear life to a 10-5 win over the Cincinnati Reds in Game 1 of the best-of-three Wild Card series.
If this were any other team than the Reds, the Dodgers would lose the game.
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Every team’s approach should be to get into the Dodgers’ bullpen ASAP. Especially, the light-hitting Reds. Snell needed 91 pitches to get through seven innings. If he goes even 6 2/3, Cincy probably could’ve pushed across a few more runs. Manager Dave Roberts certainly thought handing a 10-2 lead over to the bullpen could give the boys on the backend some confidence. Nope.
Alex Vesia recorded one out, allowing two runs and a walk. Edgardo Henriquez walked two batters and got nobody out. Jack Dreyer walked in a run before getting two outs with the bases loaded to end the inning. 59 pitches to record three outs. Blake Treinen, last year’s postseason hero, was able to get the final three outs in the ninth inning unscathed. (Breathe for now).
Imagine if it was Kyle Schwarber up at the plate in a 10-5 game with the bases loaded and one out. None of those dudes should be on the mound or even stretching behind those bullpen doors. (Add Tanner Scott to this list).
Roberts put on a master class during the 2024 postseason, utilizing his bullpen more often than his starters on the way to a World Series Championship. In 2025, Roberts will want to do the opposite.
Roberts does have other arms at his disposal. In a similar situation, let’s stay with the Philadelphia Phillies example. If it’s Schwarber followed by Bryce Harper, Roberts must do the following. He could get his lefty-on-lefty matchup and bring in the hard-throwing Justin Wrobleski (who is trusted for the moment), or Clayton Kershaw may have this specific role going forward no matter the inning. The bulk inning guys for Roberts that will need to get multiple outs will be Tyler Glasnow and Emmett Sheehan.
These are the guys who will win the Dodgers another World Series. Glasnow and Sheehan will have to hold leads, keep games close, and finish games. If there was any indication from Game 1, it’s that no lead is safe. Then there’s Roki Sasaki. It’s the button Roberts will want to push but must know when to push it. The jury is still out. Only time will tell how much confidence Sasaki has and how much Roberts has in him.
The Dodgers’ offense can slug their way to 10 runs, starters can pitch deep into games, but those bullpen doors will swing open again. Next time, though, Roberts will have to push the right buttons. Let the master class begin.