The Los Angeles Dodgers had a chance to sweep the San Francisco Giants on Sunday, carrying a one-run lead into the eighth inning, but Blake Treinen was unable to protect that in an eventual 3-1 loss.
Treinen allowed two singles to begin his appearance, then a ground-rule RBI double that tied things up. After an intentional walk to load the bases with one out, Treinen walked Willy Adames to score another run that put the Giants ahead. He managed to get a second out but that came with a third run crossing the plate.
“I think obviously he just wasn’t getting miss,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “I don’t know if he was being too fine. I thought the stuff started getting a little better that Adames at-bat, but he had count leverage and couldn’t put him away.
“We need him. It was a perfect opportunity for him to throw up a zero, and we just couldn’t get it done. It’s baseball. Hopefully after this off day he’ll be able to reset and get ready to finish strong.”
After being the Dodgers’ best reliever last year with a 1.93 ERA in 46.2 innings, Treinen has been anything but good this year. Across 24.1 innings pitched, he holds a 5.55 ERA with a 1.85 WHIP and three blown saves in five chances.
Treinen was Roberts’ most trusted weapon out of the bullpen last year, and he continues to hold that belief in him. But he also needs to see the right-hander turn things around to build some confidence.
“Certainly, the way he’s throwing the ball matters,” Roberts began. “I’ve got to trust what I’m seeing and not solely bet on the person or track record. I think we all need to see a couple good outings, but most importantly I want to see confidence out of him.
“To be quite honest, I think right now he’s not as confident in himself as I am in him. So I think the main thing is we’ve got to get that confidence back.”
With the playoffs starting in just about one week, the Dodgers don’t have much time to give Treinen to get back on track. But Roberts isn’t too worried about that and will continue to use the 37-year-old in high-leverage situations.
“Certainly, I’d like to see some more consistent performance,” Roberts said. “But at the end of the day, there’s going to be certain guys we’re going to go to in leverage, and certain guys we’re not going to.
“My trust in him is unwavering. I still feel very confident when I call to the bullpen and Blake comes in the game.”
Blake Treinen having mechanical issues
Treinen has walked nine hitters in his last 5.1 innings, 10 in his last 11.2, and 18 in 24.2 overall innings this year. The lack of command has been a major issue for Treinen, and Roberts believes that could be somewhat related to the mental side of his game that in turn affects delivery.
“I do think Blake is a little caught up in the mechanic part of it,” Roberts said.
Although the mechanics are physical, pitchers who get caught up thinking about them too much tend to suffer. It’s similar to what Tyler Glasnow dealt with earlier in the season.
Have you subscribed to the Dodger Blue YouTube channel? Be sure to ring the notification bell to watch player interviews, participate in shows and giveaways, and stay up to date on all Dodgers news and rumors!
