LOS ANGELES -- In this era of baseball, complete games are no common feat, but many pitchers dream of finishing what they started on the mound. Justin Wrobleski is one of them.
Wrobleski was well in line to go the distance, and potentially even twirl a "Maddux," after throwing eight innings on 90 pitches on Monday night. But manager Dave Roberts went to the bullpen for the ninth, and Wrobleski saw no reason to argue.
"Something that I've got to earn," he said. "If Doc tells me right now, 'We're gonna go with Tanner [Scott],' I trust in Doc."
Wrobleski spun the most masterful performance of his big league career, facing one over the minimum across a career-high eight scoreless innings in a series-opening 4-0 win over the Mets at Dodger Stadium. Three turns into the rotation, it was the best outing by a Dodgers starter in 2026 so far.
For Roberts, Wrobleski had more than earned the ninth inning by virtue of his performance alone. But when the Dodgers weighed how he spent most of last year pitching in relief and that 78 pitches was his previous season high, they decided not to push the 25-year-old left-hander further.
"I think for me, the decision was he hasn't gone more than five innings in a long time, so now you're talking about the health of the player," Roberts said. "For him to get up eight times and to throw the baseball the way he did, you could see the velocity start to go down. … He had a heck of a ballgame, he was efficient, those guys were swinging."
Wrobleski went 13 up, 13 down to begin his outing before giving up a base hit to Jorge Polanco with one out in the fifth inning. Polanco was promptly erased on a double play, and Wrobleski continued to mow down Mets hitters, ultimately facing the minimum through seven innings before giving up a two-out knock to Francisco Alvarez in the eighth.
In the last 10 years, Wrobleski is the fourth Dodgers starter to face the minimum through seven innings, joining Clayton Kershaw (April 13 and July 15, both in 2022), Max Scherzer (Sept. 12, 2021) and Rich Hill (Sept. 10, 2016, and Aug. 23, 2017).
The Mets are reeling, having been outscored 34-9 over the course of a six-game losing streak. But their lineup still has plenty of pieces who can do damage, and Wrobleski kept them off-balance.
"Watching film, he's got good stuff. He's going to attack, and that's what he did," Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. "He got ahead, and he continued to stay on the attack. It's a combination of the fastball and the slider, and he kept us on the ground."
Wrobleski didn't get a ton of swing-and-miss, only striking out two and generating just four whiffs. He gave up plenty of contact, but few hard-hit balls. Mets hitters averaged an 88.7 mph exit velocity against Wrobleski, and the defenders behind him fielded every ball that was hit to them.
Most importantly, Wrobleski was able to put every pitch right where he wanted it. He didn't walk a batter, and he landed 64 of his 90 pitches for strikes.
"When a pitcher is executing that well, I get a great view of what he's doing with his pitches," said center fielder Andy Pages, who moved into a tie with Shohei Ohtani for the team lead with his fifth homer, via interpreter Juan Dorado. "It's nice to be out there when a guy's throwing the way he is."
Wrobleski is the Dodgers' sixth starter, but that doesn't encompass how important he has become to the team over the past year. He began 2025 as a spot starter, then ended the season as a trusted bullpen arm. He's had a hybrid role in '26, making his season debut in long relief before shifting to the rotation, doing whatever the team needs -- and doing it well.
In a short span of time, Wrobleski has transformed into a legitimate big league starting pitcher. One day, he hopes, that may lead to him getting the opportunity he didn't have on Monday night.
"I'm hoping there's plenty of other opportunities like that to get a complete game," Wrobleski said. "That's something that I think is really cool, not a lot of people do it anymore. … I'm going to try to keep building and get myself in a spot where hopefully I can complete some of those."