The Los Angeles Dodgers bullpen was projected to be a strength for the team this season but the group proved to be inconsistent, if not problematic, throughout much of the year.
There was improved performance down the stretch of the regular season and manager Dave Roberts expressed confidence in having found trusted options.
Despite the struggles the bullpen had prior to the final series in September, the pitching staff as a whole managed to put together the lowest batting average allowed in a calendar month, according to Mike Petriello of MLB.com:
As we've been tracking for a few weeks: The September Dodgers pitching staff did indeed set a new all-time best for "lowest batting average allowed in a month."https://t.co/936p7BwAt1
All the flaws of batting average being noted: that's pretty cool. pic.twitter.com/JcUwGilcwR
— Mike Petriello (@mike_petriello) September 29, 2025
Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman has faith in the arms chosen for the postseason roster, but it is up to the team to put them in a position to succeed.
“So we still have a lot of confidence in a lot of those arms,” he said. “Now it’s about figuring out the right game opportunity, score, situations to get him in and kind of keep building on that.”
Friedman believes their issues stem from a lack of confidence rather than a regression in stuff or pitch quality.
“When the execution is off, you get behind and you come in zone and you’re just more likely to take on damage,” he said. “So it’s kind of that imperfect storm in a lot of ways.
“As far as stuff and quality of pitches, that hadn’t necessarily backed up. It was more just execution and falling behind way too much.”
Dodgers bullpen performance in Game 1
For all the momentum the group had, that stalled on Tuesday night as the Dodgers needed to use three relief pitchers alone in the eighth inning. Alex Vesia, Edgardo Henriquez and Jack Dreyer combined for 59 pitches as they each struggled with command.
Vesia was charged with two runs and Henriquez allowed one before Dreyer could get the Dodgers through the inning.
Blake Treinen then stranded a two-out single in the ninth to ensure the Dodgers didn’t squander a dominant performance from Blake Snell.
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