Dodgers supervisor Dave Roberts was attempting to play the lengthy recreation Monday night time.
Which is why, when his workforce entered the ninth inning with a three-run lead in Recreation 2 of the Nationwide League Division Collection, he gave the save alternative to Blake Treinen as an alternative of Roki Sasaki.
If all issues had been equal, it’s doubtless that Roberts would have turned to Sasaki to start out the inning. In simply two weeks since getting back from a shoulder damage and being moved to the bullpen, the transformed rookie starter has develop into the membership’s most dominant aid possibility.
However, for as a lot of a revelation because the 23-year-old right-hander had been in that point — posting 4 scoreless outings with a 100-mph fastball and unhittable splitter — the workforce remained conscientious about managing Sasaki’s workload, which included one look in Recreation 2 of the wild card collection, then one other in Recreation 1 of the NLDS simply days prior.
Thus, with Roberts feeling assured sufficient in Treinen (the veteran right-hander coming off a career-worst season but in addition some lately improved outings) to guard a three-run cushion that felt comparatively snug, he left Sasaki sitting within the bullpen regardless of the save scenario.
He tried to make the most of a possibility to offer his ace reliever relaxation.
“He hasn’t gone two out of three [days] a lot in any respect,” Roberts mentioned after the sport. “So I didn’t wish to simply sort of preemptively put him in there. I felt good with who we had.”
That plan, in fact, virtually backfired in disastrous trend. Treinen gave up two runs with out retiring a batter. Alex Vesia wanted his protection to show a wheel play on a Bryson Stott bunt to restrict the injury from there. And ultimately, Sasaki entered the sport anyway to document the ultimate out.
Transferring ahead, Roberts confirmed on Tuesday, Sasaki is “undoubtedly the first possibility now” for any future save conditions — the closest the workforce will come to calling him their outright nearer, since they may additionally select to make use of him in high-leverage spots earlier than the ninth.
“Clearly what Roki has finished, has continued to point out, has been very encouraging on a number of fronts,” Roberts mentioned.
The query, nevertheless, stays precisely how laborious the Dodgers can experience him the remainder of these playoffs; and the way delicately they’ll must stability the burden they place on a younger pitcher who has by no means earlier than pitched in a aid position.
“He’s not going to shut each recreation, it’s simply not possible,” Roberts mentioned Tuesday. “That is one thing he’s by no means finished. And also you’re anticipating to go a couple of extra weeks [in the postseason]. So all that stuff has to play in, that lots of people don’t have any appreciation for.”
The deeper the Dodgers go within the playoffs, the extra tough this calculus will get.
For now, the workforce’s choice could be for Sasaki to have not less than in the future of relaxation earlier than every of his outings. And whereas Roberts didn’t rule out utilizing him back-to-back days, he described it as “the subsequent commencement level” for the offseason Japanese signing (who had made solely eight MLB begins at first of the season earlier than initially getting harm and lacking the subsequent 4 months).
“There’s no assure what the stuff’s going to be like [in a back-to-back sequence],” Roberts mentioned, including that any potential utilization of Saskai on consecutive days would require conversations beforehand with pitching coaches about how Sasaki regarded in pregame catch periods.
“I might like to have Roki throw each single day if he may, however that’s simply not possible,” Roberts reiterated. “Once more, we’ve got a number of conversations, after which I make my choice.”
In different phrases, Sasaki will get the vast majority of save alternatives transferring ahead. However he doubtless gained’t be the one one to deal with such spots.
Sheehan responds in set-up position
Emmet Sheehan reacts after closing out the eighth inning in opposition to the Phillies in Recreation 2.
(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Instances)
After a promising common season by which he posted a 2.82 ERA in 15 outings, the Dodgers regarded to Emmet Sheehan to be a multi-inning set-up man for his or her beleaguered aid corps.
His first playoff outing was troublesome: Giving up two hits and two walks whereas recording just one out in Recreation 2 of the wild-card collection in opposition to the Reds.
However on Monday night time, he bounced again with two innings of one-run aid to maintain the Dodgers’ lead intact getting into the ninth.
The most important second of Sheehan’s outing (by which he retired the aspect within the seventh, earlier than giving up a down-the-line triple to Max Kepler and RBI single to Trea Turner within the eighth) got here after he’d yielded that lone run. The Phillies had left-handed sluggers Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper due up subsequent. The Dodgers had Vesia, their prime left-handed possibility, warming within the bullpen.
For a quick second, as pitching coach Mark Prior got here to the mound and Sheehan fidgeted along with his PitchCom machine throughout an prolonged pause, it appeared the Dodgers had been simply stalling for Vesia to get heat.
However Roberts in the end stayed put and let Sheehan pitch to the Phillies’ star duo. His religion was rewarded with two outs that ended the inning. Sheehan struck out Schwarber with a 97.6-mph fastball on the within nook, tied for his third-hardest pitch for a strikeout this season. Then he bought Harper to fly out on a changeup, pumping a fist into his mitt as he skipped off the sector.
“I believe it simply confirmed some changes that I made in comparison with that earlier recreation [against the Reds],” Sheehan mentioned.
The most important one?
“Positively controlling your feelings,” Sheehan acknowledged. “It’s a giant piece of popping out of the bullpen. I’ve talked to a number of guys about that, particularly after Cincinnati the place I wasn’t as snug on the market.”
That Reds outing, in fact, was a serious crimson flag for the Dodgers’ bullpen plans. Given the struggles from the workforce’s conventional relievers getting into the playoffs, Sheehan was alleged to basically be a set-up man out of the bullpen able to bridging the hole from the beginning pitcher to the ninth.
Sheehan mentioned, in that wild-card outing, he felt he was “attempting to do some an excessive amount of, attempting to be somewhat too positive with my pitches on the corners.”
“That’s not likely my recreation,” he mentioned in hindsight. “So I believe simply getting again to the method and the sport plan that’s been working for the previous couple months was massive. Making an attempt to simply go proper at them and assault within the zone.”
Roberts gave Sheehan the leash to try this Monday, and can doubtless maintain calling upon him in high-leverage spots transferring ahead, maybe making Sheehan and Sasaki his most well-liked mixture to shut out the ultimate innings of video games.
“I simply felt that his stuff was nonetheless actual good [and that] he wasn’t going to run from these guys on the prime,” Roberts mentioned Tuesday of letting Sheehan face Schwarber and Harper (who’re a mixed one for 14 within the NLDS with two walks and eight strikeouts).
“I trusted him. I felt in that second he was the most suitable choice. And it proved to be proper.”
Treinen missing ‘edge’
On the different finish of the reliever belief spectrum is Treinen, who not solely didn’t retire any of the three batters he confronted in Recreation 2 but in addition, not less than in Roberts’ estimation, additionally didn’t seem like somebody assured of their stuff.
“I simply didn’t see that edge final night time,” Roberts mentioned Tuesday, “that I do know I’ve seen it many instances over.”
Certainly, Treinen was the Dodgers’ most trusted reliever throughout their World Collection run final 12 months, when he was credited with three saves, two holds and two wins and punctuated his October with 2 ⅓ scoreless innings of aid in Recreation 5 of the World Collection.
This season has been a special story, with Treinen stumbling to a career-worst 5.40 ERA after lacking a lot of the primary half with a forearm drawback.
Regardless of that, Treinen had entered Monday on extra of a excessive, after hanging out three batters in his regular-season finale earlier than making two scoreless appearances within the wild-card collection.
The Phillies, nevertheless, took benefit of his lack of ability this 12 months to get as a lot swing-and-miss, fanning on simply considered one of eight swings whereas stringing collectively a single and two doubles (the final one on a half-swing from Nick Castellanos in opposition to Treinen’s trademark sweeper).
“I felt that he was getting some momentum earlier than that final one, so I’ll verify in on him,” Roberts mentioned. “However there’s methods of the way you go about an outing, profitable or not profitable, and the way a participant carries himself issues to me.”
On Monday, Treinen didn’t verify that field. And whether or not he shall be thrown into such a high-leverage scenario his subsequent outing stays to be seen.
