LOS ANGELES — Everyone knew that starting pitching might be the Dodgers weakness this October, but they expected to be able to overcome any starter issues with a deep bullpen.
So far, so good.
After starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto got knocked around to the tune of five runs in three innings, five Dodgers relievers shut down the Padres over the next six innings in their 7-5 victory in Game 1 of the Division Series on Saturday night.
The relievers gave up just two hits to a lineup that had five hits in the first three innings against Yamamoto.
“The whole bullpen pitched really well,” catcher Will Smith said. “That’s why we won the game.”
This was a formula the Dodgers figured they might need to use, based on the way the regular season went. The Dodgers ranked fourth in the majors with a 3.53 bullpen ERA, which helped them manage the best record in the majors despite their rotation having a 4.23 ERA, which ranked 19th.
The Dodgers trailed, 5-3, when Yamamoto threw his final pitch of the night in the third inning. Then the bullpen door began to swing open. Only one reliever was ineffective, and his brief hiccup wasn’t costly because the subsequent reliever bailed him out.
Right-hander Ryan Brasier picked up the first five outs, working around a double. Left-hander Alex Vesia then retired all three hitters he faced. Right-hander Evan Phillips retired four straight.
The only weak link in the chain was right-hander Michael Kopech, who has been practically unhittable for most of the time since the Dodgers got him in a deadline deal from the Chicago White Sox. Kopech entered in the eighth with a two-run lead and walked two of the three batters he faced, Manny Machado and Jackson Merrill.
Right-hander Blake Treinen rescued him.
Treinen entered, with the potential tying run on base, and he got Xander Bogaerts on a popup into shallow left — with shortstop Miguel Rojas making a nice over the shoulder catch — and then he struck out Jake Cronenworth.
Treinen remained in the game to work the ninth, pitching around a single and a walk. He struck out Machado to end it.
Treinen had just one save in 50 games during the regular season, and he never recorded more than four outs. His use in the ninth on Saturday was a demonstration of the Dodgers’ bullpen versatility as they’ve used different relievers to finish games since Phillips struggled earlier this season.
“Super proud,” Phillips said. “I think we take a lot of pride in being available for our team like that. We’ve had situations throughout this season and in previous seasons where we’ve been asked to take on a big workload. And I think we take a lot of pride in preparing our bodies and taking a plan out there to get guys out. We just pass it on, one to another. That tells the story the most about how the ‘pen is. We don’t care what inning it is. Up, down however many runs, just pass the torch to the next guy, and just continue to try to stack up those outs and give our offense, which is fantastic, a chance to bounce back and then keep us in the game.”
The bullpen was particularly good at handling more “up-downs” than usual. Typically, relievers start with a clean inning and pitch only that inning, but four of the five relievers the Dodgers used were asked to finish one inning, sit down, and then come back to work a part of the next inning.
“We haven’t done a lot of that this year,” Treinen said. “Sometimes we have for matchups, but the way it was shaping up, it was just going to kind of be, get your guy, get a couple other guys. The next guy comes in and gets the last out, rolls to the next inning. It is what it is. I don’t really put too much thought into it, man.”
Phillips said the relievers typically have an idea going into the game which pocket of hitters they are likely to face, so it’s not as much of a jumble as it may seem.
“A lot of it’s match-up based for what stretch of hitters we’re going to be facing that night,” Phillips said. “When’s the last time we faced those guys, and how tuned in are those hitters to us. Things like that all go into it. That’s really well communicated here. We’re given plenty of notice before the game, before the series, whatever it may be, to basically be ready for whatever situation we’re called upon.”
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Treinen said that’s all helped them work together efficiently as a group, not merely a collection of individuals.
“Once the phone rings, we just lock it in, and we just pay attention to what we’re supposed to do,” Treinen said. “And I think that’s a beautiful thing. There’s no egos. There’s no, Why am I here? Why am I not there? When our name is called, we get our lanes, we go execute. We’re a tight knit group that’s very fortunate to have a lot of guys that are pulling on the same rope. I don’t think every team is that way. I’m sure there’s a lot of teams that are still that way, but this organization does a good job putting good pieces together.”
