Ryan Pepiot continued to make his case for a spot on the Los Angeles Dodgers postseason roster with another strong outing in their 4-1 loss to the Colorado Rockies in the first game of a doubleheader at Coors Field on Tuesday.
Pepiot served as the bulk pitcher after Caleb Ferguson retired just two batters and exited with a runner on first base. Pepiot stranded the inherited runner and proceeded to complete six innings.
Pepiot kept the Rockies off the scoreboard until the seventh, when he gave up a two-out solo home run to Nolan Jones. That was the final batter Pepiot faced, who allowed just the one run on five hits and collected a career-high nine strikeouts against one walk.
The right-hander was particularly effective when throwing his changeup as he generated 16 swings and misses with it.
Pepiot revealed he has been working hard to improve the pitch and was satisfied with the results he got against the Rockies, via SportsNet LA:
“It was coming out of my hand pretty well and throwing it off the fastball, and mixing some sliders in there. I was surprised with some of the numbers, pitching at elevation, how it was movement-wise. It was coming out of my hand well. Been spending a lot of time working on it, so happy with it.”
Pepiot lowered his ERA to an impressive 1.85 after his performance against the Rockies. He is 2-1 with a 3.59 FIP, 0.74 WHIP and a 35-to-4 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 39 innings pitched this season.
Pepiot’s success is all the more impressive when considering he didn’t make his 2023 debut until August 19 and has been asked to fill multiple roles.
Dave Roberts: Ryan Pepiot ‘making a good claim’ for Dodgers postseason roster
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts previously acknowledged Pepiot was earning his way into being part of the team’s postseason plans, and the 26-year-old should be considered a near-lock at this point.
“He’s making a good claim,” Roberts recently said. “Starting, coming out of the ‘pen, going as hard as he can for as long as he can.”
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