'We have to be better': Familiar issues in loss

July 8th, 2021

MIAMI -- Over the first two months of the season, the Dodgers were able to push through despite having a ton of injuries on the position player side. Los Angeles is hoping to do the same now that its pitching staff is the one that’s banged up.

Clayton Kershaw was placed on the 10-day injured list on Wednesday with left forearm inflammation and it’s unclear just how much time he’s going to miss. There’s also the uncertainty surrounding Trevor Bauer as MLB continues its investigation on sexual assault claims.

Because of that, the Dodgers are moving forward with a three-man rotation and will ask for a lot out of their bullpen. The unit came up short in the 9-6 loss to the Marlins on Wednesday at loanDepot park. It was the second consecutive walk-off loss for the Dodgers, and after winning nine straight, they have now lost three in a row.

“It’s not ideal, certainly,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts about the team’s necessity to have three bullpen games in a week. “But I think that the guys that we’re running out there, they’re doing a heck of a job, they really are.”

The Dodgers’ bullpen has been good in bullpen games so far this season, but Wednesday was the exception. It was the first time the Dodgers allowed more than three runs in a scheduled bullpen game. The lack of arms available on Wednesday certainly played a big part in the issues.

Los Angeles is just two days removed from an unexpected bullpen game on Sunday and used six relievers in Tuesday’s extra-inning loss. That forced the Dodgers to open Wednesday's game with Jake Reed, who was with Triple-A Oklahoma City just 72 hours earlier.

It also made them ask for four innings from right-hander Mitch White, who was activated just before first pitch when Kershaw landed on the IL. White was solid, allowing three runs (two earned) and striking out five over four innings. He exited with the Dodgers holding a 5-4 lead, but the rest of the bullpen couldn’t hang on.

Phil Bickford and Joe Kelly have both been solid for the Dodgers over the last three weeks, but weren’t at their best on Wednesday, each allowing an earned run. Because Blake Treinen was unavailable after throwing 20 pitches on Tuesday, the Dodgers leaned on Kenley Jansen in the eighth. The move didn’t work out, as Jesús Sánchez lined a two-out RBI single off the Dodgers’ closer to give Miami a 6-5 lead.

In the ninth, after Zach McKinstry hit a clutch solo homer to tie it, the Dodgers went to their last available arm in Edwin Uceta. With two runners on and two outs, Jesús Aguilar ended the game with a three-run walk-off blast.

“We have to be better across the board,” Roberts said. “Those guys over there, they’ve played some good baseball. Aggressive baseball. They’ve made the plays they needed to make and they’ve made pitches. It’s a good club over there. They can really pitch. They have some talent over there and they’ve put it on us the first three days.”

Roberts is right. In order for the Dodgers to avoid a four-game sweep in Miami, they will have to play better baseball. While it was the bullpen that lost the game on Wednesday, they were hardly the only problem for the Dodgers.

In the first three games against the Marlins, the Dodgers have been shaky defensively and have not been able to slow down Miami’s running game. Outside of the third inning on Wednesday, they also haven’t had much to show offensively.

“It doesn’t matter what anything says on paper, you still have to show up and play the game and do all the little things right,” said Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner, who hit a three-run homer in the five-run third. “We’re not doing all the little things right now and it seems like we’re paying for every little mistake that we make.”