The Los Angeles Dodgers are only in the first week of what’s projected to be roughly a three-month stretch without Edwin Díaz as he recovers from right elbow surgery, and their bullpen already is showing signs of some trouble.
The latest of which came Friday night as Alex Vesia, Blake Treinen and Tanner Scott weren’t able to protect a 4-0 lead. The Chicago Cubs instead put together a late rally that extended their winning streak to 10 games. Of the three relievers, only Vesia inherited a baserunner.
“Alex, he knows that he’s got to get PCA (Pete Crow-Armstrong), can’t walk him. And so right there, then a couple hits, and we still got the lead,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said after the 6-4 loss.
“And then I liked Blake right there, and left slider up to (Alex) Bregman, and it was a different ball game. And then liked Tanner there, and he gives up a hit to PCA, and then gives up a homer to the nine-hitter (Dansby) Swanson. So that’s the difference in the ballgame.”
Vesia allowing three runs, one of which was charged to Emmet Sheehan, was largely a blip in the radar. For Treinen, it was his second consecutive appearance in which he struggled. That’s come after starting the season with a 6.2 scoreless innings streak. Scott was pitching on the second night of a back-to-back, and he too otherwise has fared well this year.
“I wouldn’t do anything different,” Roberts said. “We all got to do our parts, and tonight, we just didn’t get it done.”
That sentiment was echoed by Scott.
“We still got to win a game,” he said. “I mean, we got a good enough bullpen that we should win games.”
Dodgers bullpen without Edwin Díaz
Along with Roberts noting he didn’t have any regrets over his pitching decisions despite the loss, he’s also confident in the group of relievers being plenty capable.
“You know, I don’t concern myself too much about it, because these are guys we have. They’ve pitched well, and they’ve got to go out there and continue to pitch well,” he said. “So I don’t spend too much time thinking about Edwin, because he’s just not going to be with us for a while.”
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