Justin Wrobleski’s start against the New York Mets wasn’t overly flashy in terms of strikeouts, but it didn’t make it any less dominant.
The left-hander completed eight shutout innings for the Los Angeles Dodgers, powered mainly by his fastball and slider. Relying on just two pitches to get through a start goes against conventional wisdom, especially when pitching into the eighth inning. Still, he trusted in his ability and in a philosophy he had picked up from watching Clayton Kershaw.
“I think that’s the bread and butter for me, is the fastball and slider,” Wrobleski said. “Yes, at some point I want something that’s moving the other way, but at the same time, I think if I can spot my heater, I think that’s something I can do.
“That’s something Kersh did forever. I’m not saying we’re the same guy, but at the same time, you can learn from the greats in that respect. They keep it simple. There was nothing overly special. He wasn’t trying to trick anybody. I think that’s something I’ve learned even with watching Yama, Snell and all these guys. They’re not trying to trick people. They’re just executing pitches with great stuff and letting the results happen.
“Some days you can throw the same pitches and get hit. Some days you can throw those exact same pitches and have a great outing. Just keeping it simple is big for me.”
The 25-year-old averaged around 11 pitches per inning and only allowed two base runners in his entire outing. He carved through the Mets’ lineup with ease despite not recording a ton of strikeouts.
Although the Mets largely made good contact on the day, Wrobleski’s ability to locate pitches induced a lot of ground-ball contact, which greatly limited the potential damage.
Justin Wrobleski trusts in Dave Roberts and Dodgers
There was some thought that Wrobleski could return for the ninth inning and try to finish the complete-game shutout, but Dodgers manager Dave Roberts opted to bring in Tanner Scott.
The third-year pitcher had no issue with the decision and expressed a belief that he needs to earn those opportunities.
“For me, I think it’s something that I’ve got to earn,” Wrobleski said after the game. “If Doc tells me right now, ‘We’re going to go with Tanner,’ I trust in Doc. It wasn’t a, ‘Oh, I want to go back out there.’
“I trust in Doc and at the same time I know they’re protecting me and keeping my best interest in mind, which we really appreciate as players. That’s something this organization does so well. There was nothing other than, ‘Hey, great job.’ I appreciate them and everything they’ve done for me.”
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