The Los Angeles Dodgers bullpen has been a strength of the team so far this season, and that’s included Tommy Kahnle impressing in his return from Tommy John surgery.
After spending the first month of the season completing a rehab assignment with Single-A Rancho Cucamonga and Triple-A Oklahoma City, Kahnle turned in consecutive scoreless appearances upon being activated off the 10-day injured list.
However, Kahnle encountered some trouble during Wednesday’s loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates, as he surrendered a leadoff home run, hit a batter and gave up a second homer all in a span of five pitches.
Following the Dodgers’ loss, Kahnle explained his fastball command remains a work in progress, per Jack Harris of the L.A. Times:
“I don’t feel like it’s quite there yet,” Kahnle said of his fastball. “There were a couple games where I felt pretty good. I felt good today too, but didn’t feel like it was coming out right.”
Jack Suwinski ambushed Kahnle’s first pitch after entering for the sixth inning — a 93.6 mph fastball that was down in the zone. Kahnle then threw back-to-back changeups to Diego Castillo before a fastball got away and hit him. Like Suwinski, Josh VanMeter jumped on a first-pitch fastball for his home run.
While it was a disappointing appearance for Kahnle, the Dodgers bullpen as a whole struggled in the loss. They combined to allow a season-high five runs and failed to keep the Pirates off the board after the offense rallied to tie the game in the seventh inning.
Kahnle key for Dodgers without Treinen
Amid news Blake Treinen won’t return from right shoulder trouble until some time after the All-Star break, the Dodgers figure to lean more heavily on Kahnle, among others.
However, manager Dave Roberts did caution the team prefers to ease Kahnle into high-leverage situations. Prior to his Dodgers debut at the beginning of the month, the 32-year-old hadn’t pitched in the Majors since July 26, 2020.
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