The Los Angeles Dodgers came dangerously close to letting Game 1 of the National League Championship Series slip through their fingers after a dominant performance from Blake Snell, but Blake Treinen struck out Brice Turang to strand the bases loaded and secure a 2-1 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers.
Treinen had entered in relief of Roki Sasaki, who had his first minor hiccup out of the bullpen.
The veteran has had struggles of his own this season, with a 9.64 ERA and 2.25 WHIP in September. That carried over into October for the one high-leverage situation Treinen was given prior to Monday’s appearance.
He nearly had a blown save in Game 2 of the NL Division Series, allowing two runs on three consecutive hits. There was some bad batted ball luck mixed in, but there was also room for better execution.
But Roberts still trusts Treinen to be able to handle certain situations, and his trust was rewarded on Monday.
Locking down the save in Game 1 has validated the work Treinen has put in behind the scenes to improve and gave him a boost of confidence.
“Yeah, you know, obviously this year’s had its struggles,” he said. “A lot of things trying to work through, the elbow injury, trying to find myself again. Certainly haven’t been at the clip that I believe that I’m capable of, nor do the Dodgers think I’m capable of.
“But with a lot of the work we’ve put in and having the ability to get an out when Roki has been so great and picked us up, means a lot. I feel like I’m in a pretty good place. I think a lot of us down in the bullpen feel really confident moving forward.”
Roberts previously attributed Treinen’s struggles to a lack of confidence, which he felt affected control. Walks were a major issue this season, with Treinen issuing 19 in just 26.2 innings pitched.
The right-hander has been better in this regard during October, but could stand to improve his pitch location at times.
Dave Roberts maintaining trust in Blake Treinen
Remarkable starting pitching and Sasaki’s presence has helped mitigate what largely was an inconsistent Dodgers bullpen throughout the season, but the likelihood is the group will need to deliver in more key moments.
“I feel really good with those three guys finishing the game,” Roberts said of Treinen, Sasaki and Alex Vesia. “So yeah, but I think that I feel very comfortable, very confident with all those guys and some other guys too.
“So I do think that I’m not going to buy into a certain narrative. I trust our players and they’re going to need to respond when given the opportunity. That’s kind of how I manage, and I think we’ve had some good success doing it that way.”
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!
