LOS ANGELES -- Tanner Scott’s introduction to Dodgers postseason action didn’t go quite as planned.
After not pitching during the 2025 postseason due to a procedure to treat a lower body abscess, Scott took the ball to close out Saturday’s Game 1 of the National League Division Series against the Braves.
He entered with a four-run cushion ... and exited four batters later with the Dodgers’ lead down to two. Ronald Acuña Jr. knocked a leadoff single after working a full count, and then Ozzie Albies sent a first-pitch four-seamer a Statcast-projected 432 feet into the center-field seats.
Scott then induced groundouts from Matt Olson and Michael Harris II before manager Dave Roberts turned to Evan Phillips to seal the 5-3 victory.
Entering October, who the Dodgers would use in the ninth inning -- save situation or not -- was among the biggest questions facing an otherwise stacked roster and pitching staff.
“I think the one guy I feel that it’s easy to say I see finishing games is Tanner, but if it’s a different lane that I feel that he’s the best option in the eighth inning, then we’re going to use him,” Roberts said Friday, adding that Phillips, Roki Sasaki and Edwin Díaz were all options to close as well.
So does Saturday’s hiccup alter that approach?
“No, I don't think so,” Roberts said. “I thought we had Acuña, and then he puts together a good at-bat. And then Albies hits a first-pitch [fastball] for a homer. I thought the stuff was good, so I'm not going to waver on that one.”
Scott said he is eager to contribute regardless of his role.
“We’re just ready for the phone to ring. Anyone can pitch anywhere,” he said.
“Usually we talk through the hitters and see where we best fit in,” Scott added. “It happened to be me. I should’ve got the first guy out; I didn’t. And then I gave up a homer, and then the next few guys got out, and Evan finished it off, so that was huge.”
Roberts said he felt more comfortable turning to Phillips than Sasaki because it was in the middle of the frame. But ultimately, his decision to hand the ball to Scott in a ninth-inning, non-save situation was more about the Braves’ lineup than the inning itself.
“I think it was more with the lead we had, knowing that it was going to bleed into some lefties, I felt good about that run [of Braves hitters]. If it was the eighth inning, I would have probably used him there. It was more about probably the lane and the game score.”
Scott, who signed a four-year, $72 million contract with the Dodgers ahead of the 2025 season, was removed from the NLDS roster after Game 3 last year as his lower-body issue grew more urgent. He did not throw a pitch or even warm up in the bullpen during L.A.’s title run.
This time around, he’s hoping to play a role in the Dodgers’ campaign for a three-peat.
“It’s huge. I wanted to be a part of it last year and then the injury happened,” Scott said.
Scott is coming off a bounceback season in which he posted a 2.69 ERA with 25 saves after Díaz struggled and missed significant time with elbow and neck injuries. Entering Saturday, Scott had 5 1/3 scoreless innings on his postseason resume between 2023 with Miami and ’24 with San Diego. He held the Dodgers to two hits over three innings in the ’24 NLDS, with five strikeouts.
For the Braves, forcing the Dodgers to bring Phillips in to get the final out was a nice silver lining on an otherwise disappointing afternoon.
“I think any time the other team feels you and has to go to leverage guy after leverage guy in the end, it always helps for the next day, right?” said reliever Brent Suter. “So that's a good thing to have, both with them using their guys and with making them feel like, ‘Hey, this team has no quit in them.’”