The Los Angeles Dodgers lost another key pitcher this week as Tanner Scott was placed on the 15-day injured list with left elbow inflammation.
Scott will be unavailable for multiple weeks, and potentially longer, but the expectation is he will return before the end of the 2025 season. In the meantime, the Dodgers will turn to other pitchers for save opportunities, including Kirby Yates.
The veteran was able to close out the team’s 5-2 win over the Minnesota Twins on Monday after Scott exited with the elbow issue. However, Yates followed that performance with a disastrous appearance on Wednesday, when he walked all three batters faced before being taken out.
“I’m very confident,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of Yates’ ability to get saves. “I think that the fastball has been good, consistent. The split has been the problem, and it’s just not moving the way we’d like it to.
“But as far as my trust in him going out there to finish a game, I’m going to, especially given losing Tanner for the time being and with the guys we have, I have all the confidence that he’s going to finish some games.”
Yates is in the midst of a down year with the Dodgers, largely due to his splitter no longer being an effective pitch, particularly against left-handed pitching. He owns a 4-3 record with a 4.45 ERA and 1.32 WHIP in 38 appearances.
“Yeah, it is. It is,” Roberts answered when asked if Yates’ splitter has been a liability. “And I think that if you look at his success against left-handed hitters this year, the split is the cause.
“I think that’s kind of the neutralizer pitch for left-handed hitters, and that’s something that just hasn’t been consistent.”
Kirby Yates working on splitter solution
Roberts added that Yates is in the process of making some adjustments to his splitter so it can be a reliable pitch again.
“Well, we’re seeing it in real time how it is when you’ve got one pitch, essentially, that you have a lot of confidence in when you’re a two-pitch pitcher,” Roberts said of Yates’ splitter.
“So I just talked to him earlier today. He worked on some flat ground stuff with the pitching guys, and says that it’s moving the way he likes it to move, and he’s a feel guy.
“So his track record, his compete, preparation, all that stuff, I just know that it’s going to turn and he’ll get that split where it needs to be again.”
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