Left with no better alternatives, the Los Angeles Dodgers turned to the bullpen with their season on the line in Game 4 of the National League Division Series.
Landon Knack was the only other starting option at their disposal, but the team decided against it with so much on the line against a potent San Diego Padres lineup.
Bullpen games are one of the newer evolutions that the game of baseball has seen over its very long life. It is a useful, but risky tactic that utilizes an array of arms to keep opponents on their toes and doesn’t allow them a chance to get a read on any one pitcher for very long.
It is a particularly dangerous card to play in the postseason where every pitch is under a microscope and all it takes is one pitcher having an off day to put a team in a real bind.
That is exactly what makes the Dodgers’ and Detroit Tigers’ accomplishments on Wednesday all the more impressive. According to STATS, the Dodgers and Tigers are the first teams in MLB history to throw a postseason shutout in which their starter recorded no more than 4 outs in the game.
Before today, no MLB team had ever thrown a postseason shutout in a game where their starter got no more than 4 outs.
It happened twice today (@tigers & @Dodgers).
— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) October 10, 2024
The Tigers secured a 3-0 victory against the Cleveland Guardians on Wednesday to take a 2-1 lead in the series.
Facing elimination, the Dodgers used eight different pitchers against a Padres lineup that had scored 21 runs in the previous three contests. However, LA’s bullpen has been the most effective aspect of their pitching staff in the series and had held the Padres scoreless in 10.2 of their 12.2 total innings pitched.
With the win on Wednesday, the Dodgers bullpen has not allowed a run to the Padres in 12 consecutive innings of work and have thrown 19.2 clean innings overall.
Bottom of the Dodgers lineup prove to be key once again
The performance from bottom three of the Dodgers’ lineup has played a large role in the success of the offense during the NLDS. Gavin Lux, Tommy Edman, and Miguel Rojas combined to go 5-for-12 in the Dodgers’ 7-5 win in Game 1.
Lux, Kiké Hernández, and Chris Taylor went a combined 4-for-12 in Wednesday night’s 8-0 victory. This included key hits in the second inning ahead of Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts which allowed the Dodgers to jump out to an early 3-0 lead.
