Dodgers RHP pitched two scoreless innings on Wednesday, and has four scoreless appearances so far in the bullpen this season.
Ben Casparius was the first part of the Dodgers bullpen cleanup crew in Wednesday night’s comeback win over the Braves, entering the game trailing by two runs.
Just like his other appearances thus far this season, Casparius did not permit a run to score on his watch against Atlanta. He pitched two innings, during the second of which he stranded his own bases-loaded, no-out jam. Casparius struck out three Braves on Wednesday, and has six strikeouts in his five innings so far this season.
Casparius in his first three appearances entered with a lead, and came into a tie game before that. In the super early going, his average leverage index was second-highest in the bullpen entering Wednesday.
“It’s been really cool, the situations I’ve come in to pitch so far, in leverage and with the lead and everything,” Casparius said last week. “It’s something I take pride in, taking the ball and giving our team the chance to win is pretty cool.”
Pitching in relief is new to Casparius, considering 39 of his 45 minor league appearances in 2023 and 2024 were starts, before he was called up for his major league debut last August. Down the stretch, the role the Dodgers needed from Casparius was out of the bullpen, which meant the right-hander, a meticulous planner, had to switch things up.
“Being a reliever you need to be able to go with the flow a lot more,” Casparius said. “Being a starter, I knew exactly what I was doing in the training room, the weight room, and everything on the mound. As a reliever I feel like you have to get really used to being uncomfortable. Honestly it was a blessing for me that it happened in my debut, going through the playoffs and the pinnacle of our sport. Because now it’s something where I feel very comfortable doing it.”
Casparius got added to the NLDS roster last October when Michael Grove hurt his shoulder, and stayed active the rest of the way. He pitched in four games, all in short stints. He technically started a World Series game, but he was a planned opener and went two innings. In all, the rookie allowed only one run in 6⅓ innings during the postseason.
He went into the offseason preparing to be a starter, but once spring training opened, and with both Evan Phillips and Michael Kopech slowed by injuries, the clearer path for Casparius to the roster was in relief.
“Once camp started, you started figuring out what was going on with certain needs, this and that,” he said. “Making my debut and coming up in the playoffs as a reliever, I think it was maybe a smoother transition just based on prior experience.”
Casparius insisted he didn’t know in advance that he would make the opening day roster, but the way manager Dave Roberts was talking it sure seemed likely.
Last week, Roberts referred to Casparius’ demeanor to that of a “seasoned veteran.” While recounting some of the stories of how he broke the news of some players making the opening day roster — like left-handed Jack Dreyer — Roberts noted that it was expected during spring that Casparius was going to make the roster.
“I didn’t need to tell Ben, because it was sort of known, certainly how he pitched and what we went through,” Roberts said.
It was the first opening day roster for Casparius, who was drafted by the Dodgers in the fifth round in 2021 out of UConn. He said the first call he made was to his dad after he found out he made the team.
“Just knowing where the organization is and how much talent we have, so many young arms who are quite honestly in the same position as I am, I knew spring training was going to be a bloodbath in terms of the roster,” Casparius said. “I thought I had a really solid camp. I feel really comfortable in the bullpen. It’s a new role, but it’s been so much fun.”