LOS ANGELES -- The Dodgers will be without lefty reliever Tanner Scott for the remainder of their NLDS against the Phillies and all of the NLCS, should they reach it.
Scott underwent a procedure to treat an abscess somewhere in the lower body area on Wednesday night, manager Dave Roberts said. He was replaced on L.A.'s NLDS roster by fellow lefty Justin Wrobleski before Thursday's Game 4 at Dodger Stadium.
The Dodgers are not ruling out a return for Scott in the World Series, if they advance that far. A win on Thursday night would send the Dodgers to the NLCS for a second straight year.
The team first became aware that Scott was dealing with something during Tuesday's off-day workout at Dodger Stadium. At that point, general manager Brandon Gomes said, the Dodgers decided not to make a roster move ahead of Game 3 because they were unsure of the severity of the injury. There were also few options to replace him who would be available that day, as L.A.'s inactive pitchers who are still with the team threw live batting practice on Tuesday.
But on Wednesday, Roberts said, Scott's injury became an "urgent matter," necessitating the procedure, which has a recovery timetable of 1-2 weeks.
"I still feel that the World Series, if we're fortunate enough to get there, earn our way there," Roberts said, "then he'll be available."
Scott's absence was felt in the Dodgers' 8-2 loss in Game 3. After battling his command to toss a scoreless seventh, Clayton Kershaw struggled greatly in the eighth, giving up five runs (four earned). Once the game began to get out of hand, it could have been a soft landing spot for Scott, had he been available.
Scott has yet to make an appearance or even warm up in the bullpen this postseason. After signing a four-year, $72 million deal to join the Dodgers this past offseason, Scott proved unreliable as the team's de facto closer, posting a 4.74 ERA with an MLB-worst 10 blown saves.
The Dodgers used four relievers in Game 3. In addition to Scott, the others who did not pitch were Roki Sasaki, Alex Vesia and Emmet Sheehan, who have emerged as the team's most reliable leverage arms this postseason. The team was able to reserve that trio for Game 4, another chance for L.A. to clinch at home.
Gomes does not think that having an additional arm available for Game 3 would have had much bearing on the outcome.
“We ended up going with Wrobleski, who had thrown 20-some-odd pitches in a live BP the day before, and he hasn’t really done back-to-back all that much," Gomes said. "So not sure how it would’ve factored in.”
Wrobleski thrived once he shifted to a relief role this season, posting a 3.23 ERA in 22 appearances out of the bullpen. While he's typically a long reliever, he pitched on back-to-back days for the first time on Sept. 19-20, giving the Dodgers more options with his usage.