Blake Treinen, bullpen rise to the occasion in NLDS Game 1
by Megan Garcia
The decibels, just like the pressure, continued to rise. The sea of blue rally towels waved fervently throughout Dodger Stadium as Blake Treinen stared down Manny Machado from the mound.
The Padres №4 hitter represented the go-ahead run in the top of the ninth inning. Treinen raised his left leg and pushed off with his right leg to fire the 1–2 sweeper — his 39th pitch of the night — to Machado with runners on first and second.
The at-bat resulted in Treinen striking out Machado and the Dodgers celebrating the nail-biting 7–5 win in Game 1 of the National League Division Series.
The Dodgers needed grit to pull off the comeback win. The bullpen embodied every bit of it to cover 18 outs against the Padres.
“What Blake did was unbelievable,” said reliever Alex Vesia, who pitched a scoreless inning on Saturday. “But it was every single one of us.”
Ryan Brasier, Evan Phillips, Michael Kopech, Vesia and Treinen silenced the Padres in six innings following Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s five-run, three-inning start. The high-leverage arms help put the Dodgers in control of the series.
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It was expected the Dodgers would lean on the bullpen early in the postseason. It happened quickly.
It was a scenario like Saturday that led to the Dodgers to start Jack Flaherty in Game 2 as opposed to Game 1. It creates opportunities for the Dodgers to manage the bullpen differently for a probable Game 5 with Flaherty on the mound.
“I was nervous there,” said manager Dave Roberts of the ninth inning at-bat against Machado. “We pushed him a lot — more than I would’ve liked to. I just felt that you have to go to the ‘pen when I did. I felt it gave us the best chance and you trust your guys and they did a great job.”
Treinen was up for the challenge. His 1 2/3 innings was the most he pitched in an outing this year, while his 39 pitches matched a season high. He faced eight batters, the most of any Dodger reliever on Saturday.
“Every night is different; sometimes it’s quick, sometimes it’s longer,” Treinen said. “The one-plus [inning] is something I haven’t done in a while and I’m grateful they trusted me to finish the game.”
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The bullpen’s efforts started with Brasier taking over in the fourth inning.
Brasier emerged as one of the Dodgers’ top relievers when he returned from the 60-day injured list in mid-August. He didn’t allow an earned run across the 7 1/3 innings in seven relief appearances in August.
He regressed down the stretch as he posted a 5.00 ERA (9 IP, 5 ER) in 10 appearances in September, but that didn’t carry over on Saturday night. Brasier gave up only one hit in 1 2/3 scoreless innings against the Padres.
Vesia took over for Brasier in the bottom of the fifth and needed only five pitches to strike out Jackson Merrill to finish the frame. Vesia let out his trademark roar after getting out of the inning.
“Dodger Stadium is incredible,” Vesia said. “The energy all night, it was fun. It’s fun to be here, so don’t ever take it for granted.”
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Phillips resembled his early-season version on the mound. He posted a 0.66 ERA in 14 appearances before an injury-list stint forced the right-hander to miss nearly 30 games of the season.
He struggled in June and July with a 6.75 ERA in 18 2/3 innings but showed promise in August when he issued one earned run in 14 appearances.
Phillips retired all four batters he faced.
Kopech — a trade deadline acquisition — has shut down hitters since he first appeared out of the Dodger bullpen. He allowed three runs in 24 innings. But he ran into trouble in the eighth, walking two of the three batters he faced.
Then Treinen was called in for duty. He finished the job.
Blake Treinen, bullpen rise to the occasion in the NLDS Game 1 was originally published in Dodger Insider on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.