CINCINNATI — Ever tried making a king-sized bed with a queen-sized bedsheet? Then you know how Dodgers manager Dave Roberts feels about his bullpen these days.
Undermanned since Evan Phillips and Joe Kelly joined Ryan Brasier and Brusdar Graterol on the injured list, the Dodgers have cycled pitchers through their roster on a nearly daily basis – they’ve used 27 already this season, 19 just in the 13 games before Friday. The search for relievers capable of handling high-leverage situations is ongoing.
Remarkably, the revolving-door relief corps had a 1.91 ERA in 29 games.
Before Friday, that is.
Everything came untucked in the fifth inning as the Cincinnati Reds scored six times, turning a two-run Dodgers lead into a third consecutive Dodgers defeat, 9-6.
The three-game losing streak matches their longest this season.
“We’ve had a lot of different guys. That’s just kind of the way it’s played out. No excuse,” a frustrated Roberts said after the game. “I still felt good about him (Friday’s villain, Yohan Ramirez) coming into the game. I really did. If I didn’t I wouldn’t have put him in the game.
“But yeah, you’re still trying to learn guys and what they can and can’t handle, certain situations. When you kind of have that revolving door, that’s part of it. But that’s where we’re at. It’s not an excuse. I’ve got to continue to just learn these guys and put these guys in the best spots to have success.”
James Paxton didn’t help. One of the factors in the bullpen’s recent success has been the starting pitchers consistently getting deep into games – leaving only a little of the bed uncovered. Paxton didn’t make it through five innings Friday.
The veteran left-hander is walking hitters at a career-high rate. After back-to-back walk-free starts, he went back to it Friday, walking two of the first three batters he faced and watching them both ride home on a three-run home run by the fourth batter. His strikeout and walk totals for…
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