NEW YORK — The upcoming 4 weeks might probably be defining for the Dodgers.
Starting with this weekend’s three-game set at Citi Area — which is tied at a recreation apiece after Saturday’s 5-2 Mets win — the Dodgers have eight collection in a row in opposition to groups that presently have a profitable report.
The season is not going to be determined within the house of those 4 weeks, however the Dodgers have an actual alternative to place themselves in a great place in opposition to fellow contenders — or go away themselves with work to do within the second half.
“I simply suppose issues have simply obtained to be extra buttoned up on the pitching facet, ensuring the protection and the hitting’s obtained to proceed what we’re doing,” supervisor Dave Roberts mentioned earlier than the collection in New York started. “However that is going to be a great check for us. You possibly can’t run away from the truth that we’re enjoying some good groups.”
Roberts has been vocal about his need to push his starters additional to get extra innings out of them every evening. That will have been particularly welcome on Saturday, one evening after the bullpen was depleted in a rain-delayed 13-inning win. However righty Tony Gonsolin solely lasted 5 innings, permitting 4 runs to the Mets.
“That lengthy one yesterday did not go nice for us, however fortunately we pulled out the win yesterday,” Gonsolin mentioned. “Immediately, I simply tried to present the whole lot I had and go as deep as I might. Sadly I used to be solely in a position to get 5, however luckily I used to be in a position to get 5 on the similar time.”
The Dodgers managed to get by on Saturday by solely utilizing Anthony Banda and Bobby Miller — who was recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma Metropolis earlier than the loss — out of the ‘pen. Gonsolin, who struggled together with his command in a three-run fourth inning, was accomplished after finishing a clear fifth and throwing 88 pitches.
Regardless of Roberts eager to get extra out of his starters, there wasn’t a lot consideration of Gonsolin going out to start out the sixth for a number of causes. Roberts did not really feel nice about his accessible choices if the underside of the lineup turned it over for Francisco Lindor and Starling Marte, and he thought it made extra sense to get Banda a clear inning.
It has been a troublesome stability to strike for Roberts. The Dodgers’ rotation ranks final within the Majors with 237 1/3 innings, whereas the bullpen has lined an MLB-high 227 2/3 frames. The L.A. skipper would not need to overwork his relievers within the first half — however he additionally must push the correct buttons to win video games.
“The tone of tonight, it was simpler within the sense of there wasn’t a lot offensive power tonight, so far as how we had been swinging, the at-bats we had been taking,” Roberts mentioned. “So to attempt to chase and use leverage guys in a down recreation, it simply didn’t make any sense for me.”
With the rotation not reliably going deep into video games, the Dodgers have leaned closely on lengthy relievers. That was the reasoning behind citing Miller, who allowed one run to the Mets in two innings in his first Main League aid look.
The transfer necessitated optioning Matt Sauer, who has helped save the bullpen by pitching bulk innings on a number of events. However Sauer pitched three innings in Friday’s win and would have been unavailable by means of not less than the tip of the weekend, so he was a logical option to ship down.
Not each quick begin has been preventable. Clayton Kershaw, for example, was held to 2 innings as a consequence of a rain delay of greater than an hour and a half on Friday. However Roberts has seen inefficiency because the frequent thread linking the shorter begins from his rotation.
It begins from the highest of each at-bat. Coming into Friday, the Dodgers had a 59.6 p.c first-pitch strike charge, under league-average 61.4 p.c. Roberts needs to see his pitchers give attention to getting forward of hitters, quite than working again from behind, to set a greater tone for his or her outings.
“If you do this, it makes pitching robust,” Roberts mentioned earlier within the week. “So I believe we’ve obtained to start out being extra environment friendly, actually from the starters, to present us a chance to get deeper into video games. The 30-pitch innings simply don’t play. It’s not sustainable. And that begins with getting strike one.”
