The Los Angeles Dodgers bullpen faltered yet again in Wednesday night’s 6-5 loss to the Miami Marlins, as Pedro Baez gave up a go-ahead home run to J.T. Realmuto in the sixth inning that wound up being the difference in the game.
That Baez failed to keep the game tied was all the more deflating considering the Dodgers erupted to score four runs in the top of the sixth to pull even. Of course, the bullpen has made a habit of allowing opponents to regain the lead.
After the loss, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he felt for Baez, who has taken the brunt of several losses this season, per Andy McCullough of the L.A. Times:
“I feel bad for Pedro, because I know he’s wearing it right now, feeling bad,” Roberts said. “I feel bad for our ball club.”
Roberts was forced to call on Baez due to some relievers not being available, and quite frankly the options not being all that attractive.
Fact of the matter is that at the moment, Roberts doesn’t have a single reliever in his bullpen that has proven to consistently be able to get outs in high-leverage situations, which makes his job exponentially tougher.
Roberts admitted to being cognizant and needing to juggle usage and matchups for his relief pitchers. The Dodgers bullpen is tied for the Major League-lead with 10 blown saves on the season, and that doesn’t even include games like Wednesday when they blew ties or failed to keep deficits manageable.
Baez suffered the loss and is now 1-2 with a 4.12 ERA in 19 games. He’s allowed at least one earned run in seven of those appearances.
