With their season on the line, the Los Angeles Dodgers turned to a bullpen game in Game 4 of the National League Division Series against the San Diego Padres.
The decision was made partly due to the lack of available quality starting pitchers, but also because the Dodgers’ bullpen has been a strength of the team this season. While bullpen games have proven to be effective ways of getting through a game while minimizing damage, the move was still heavily criticized by fans and analysts alike due to its unconventional nature.
Still, the Dodgers had full faith in their plan, and their group of relievers had confidence heading into it.
“I would say they haven’t watched enough Dodger baseball this year,” Alex Vesia said. “If they watched us this year, they would have a different opinion.”
Vesia and the Dodgers bullpen backed up that confidence with eight different pitchers combining to throw a shutout. Ryan Brasier started the game by retiring the first four batters he faced, and from there, Anthony Banda, Michael Kopech, Alex Vesia, Evan Phillips, Daniel Hudson, Blake Treinen and Landon Knack all pitched in the victory.
“We’ve got eight, nine, 10 guys that all can come in very high-leverage situations, and I think it shows,” Vesia said. “The script for us can be written in many different ways, and I think we use that in our favor big time. We’re not handcuffed when it comes to the bullpen. Tonight was a great team win.”
Kopech added: “We knew what had to get done today. Everybody had a plan of attack, and I think we executed that pretty well.”
Getting a lead in the first inning proved to be key for the Dodgers, especially with Brasier working a scoreless inning to start off the bullpen game. The Dodgers then added on two more runs in the second and two more in the third, all while their bullpen was putting up zeroes.
“I don’t know if easier towards the end is ever the case in a playoff game, but fact of the matter is we were trying to set the tone and hold that energy early,” Kopech said. “I think we did a good job of doing that.”
The Dodgers were able to successfully utilize bullpen games during the regular season as well, which helped them prepare for the biggest stage.
“I hate to say it’s no different, because obviously the energy makes it different, but it’s the same job,” Kopech said. “If we have to come out and kind of play with our roles a little bit differently than usual, at the end of the day we’re getting outs. So to be able to do that in a big game is important.”
By the end of the game, the unit pitched nine innings, giving up no runs on seven hits with eight strikeouts to just two walks.
“They were fantastic,” Will Smith said. “Brasier opening for us, and Banda right behind him. I think someone said we used eight guys. They were all fantastic. Attacking the zone, putting guys away, put up nine zeroes, and we needed that tonight. Credit to those guys keeping us in it. Obviously jumping ahead, but they did fantastic tonight.”
“Bullpen games are tough to navigate,” Freddie Freeman added. “Anything can go off track very quickly, but our guys, what an amazing performance up and down. A lot of guys went one-plus (innings). It’s very hard to do, especially in a postseason game. Our guys did an incredible job and it sets up nicely for Friday.”
Dodgers bullpen game planning
While relief pitchers traditionally have an idea of which inning and situations they’ll pitch in, the bullpen game requires all hands on deck to be ready at any notice. However, the Dodgers had a plan to let their pitchers know when they would come in, and they followed it well.
“It was within the inning,” Vesia said. “It was pretty scripted out, obviously depending on score, it does change a little bit. But at the end of the day we all knew pretty much where we were going to go.”
Kopech added Dodgers manager Dave Roberts and the pitching staff made it possible with their communication.
“I think we had a general idea,” Kopech said. “We knew what was possible. They do a great job of communicating with us what potential situations might be, so I don’t think anybody was caught off guard. We were prepared and went out there and did the job.”
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