The Los Angeles Dodgers jumped out to an early five-run lead against the San Diego Padres but saw that evaporate in an eventual 6-5 walk-off loss in 10 innings.
Tyler Glasnow made his second start off the injured list and allowed three runs on six hits while collecting eight strikeouts in seven innings of work.
Anthony Banda followed him with a scoreless eighth inning, which set the stage for a Blake Treinen save opportunity. It was the right-hander’s first game since giving up a walk-off home run to Alex Bregman on Saturday.
Treinen struggled in a second consecutive appearance as he yielded a pair of solo home runs to Manny Machado and Jackson Merrill that tied the game. Alex Vesia then took the loss in the 10th after allowing the game-winning single to Donovan Solano.
“Probably both,” Treinen answered when asked if his struggles were due to poor execution or the Padres putting good swings together.
“I went back and looked at the cutter to Jackson, it didn’t have great lateral movement, but it was in, ball and a half in, ball in. The one to Machado was probably the worst sinker I threw all night, and he’s a great player and put a good swing on it.
“But obviously it’s pretty frustrating that it’s the second outing in a row where it’s been a little bit not what I was hoping to do for the team. I take pride in being successful for my teammates.
“They worked hard and put five runs on the board, gave us a chance to go out there, they put their faith in me to go put up a zero, and I didn’t get the job done. So I’m going to need to be better than what I have been.”
Treinen’s velocity has been down this season, but he doesn’t believe it was the cause for his struggles against the Houston Astros and Padres.
“No, the last last two outings, I don’t know if anybody’s done damage on the fastball that Bregman did to me,” Treinen began.
“I don’t know if anybody typically has put a swing like Machado. He’s a very familiar face with me. The most impressive one was probably Jackson Merrill. It’s a ball and a half inside. So I’m not going to try to reinvent the wheel. I know who I am.
“They give me lanes to be successful, just comes down to execution. My movement patterns are great. My velo has been what it’s been this year. I know it’s going to be a focus or talking point for a lot of people, but at the end of the day, execution and stuff will win over.
“Velocity is a luxury. I would love to have more, but I have what I have, and it’s been working for a majority of the year, it’s just a few outings where it hasn’t been.”
Treinen’s average fastball velocity is 94.3 mph this season, down from 96.7 in 2022. Despite the velocity loss, he has still been effective for the Dodgers, posting a 2.86 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 11.8 strikeouts per nine in 32 appearances.
Blake Treinen on Dodgers bullpen struggles
The Dodgers bullpen has struggled as of late, but Treinen took the brunt for most of it. “I mean, obviously you don’t want to do it. We take pride in doing the best we can,” he explained.
“I think our bullpen has been one of the best, if not the best, of the last five years since I’ve been here. There’s obviously going to be some tough stretches.
“A lot of that falls on me and two of the last few that you talked about. So I don’t know if we really think much about it. It’s just the day of when it happens, it’s pretty frustrating.”
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!