LOS ANGELES -- Just under a month ago, Justin Wrobleski spoke about wanting to earn the opportunity to pitch the ninth inning. The 25-year-old left-hander had just completed a career-high eight scoreless innings on 90 pitches, but he didn't get the chance to go the distance.
That chance came on Sunday afternoon, with the Dodgers' bullpen running on fumes and the Braves swinging the bats well. Wrobleski put his team on his back, giving up a season-high seven runs across 8 2/3 innings as L.A. dropped its rubber game to Atlanta, 7-2.
After the Braves tagged Wrobleski for four runs in the second inning, the southpaw bounced back with five perfect frames leading into the eighth inning, when Drake Baldwin took him deep for a solo home run. Sitting at 86 pitches entering the ninth, Wrobleski gave up another solo homer to Matt Olson and was two outs away from going the distance before drilling Mike Yastrzemski with his 100th pitch.
At that point, manager Dave Roberts opted to pull Wrobleski in favor of righty reliever Wyatt Mills. Wrobleski became the first starting pitcher since the Twins' Carlos Silva in 2006 (8 2/3 innings, eight runs) to allow seven or more runs while pitching at least 8 2/3 innings. The last Dodger to do so was Rick Sutcliffe in 1979 (8 2/3 innings, eight runs).
As he walked off the mound, Wrobleski got an ovation from the fans behind the home dugout in recognition of what he was able to give the team. Perhaps they realized the more pressing issue of the day: the Dodgers recorded only two hits and stranded seven baserunners.
In many ways, the series finale against the Braves was emblematic of the Dodgers' season so far. Their starting pitching has generally not lost them games. Only Mills pitched in relief on Sunday, but the bullpen has been a strength in the early going. The offense, though, has been awfully streaky.
After a convincing 3-1 victory on Friday night, the Dodgers didn't get on the board until the ninth inning on Saturday (Andy Pages two-run homer) and the eighth on Sunday (Max Muncy two-run homer). After the bats showed some signs of life earlier this week in Houston, they settled back into their slumber against a better -- and healthier -- Braves pitching staff.