by Megan Garcia
The Dodgers inched closer to reclaiming the National League West title. It just took an unorthodox approach with the bullpen to get there.
Tommy Edman’s RBI single in the top of the 11th put the Dodgers in position to beat the Diamondbacks 5–4 on Wednesday in 11 innings. Edman had three hits in the game. Clayton Kershaw and Roki Sasaki had a hand in paving a way out of the bullpen for the win.
The Dodgers’ magic number to clinch the division is now one.
“It was like a playoff game. We’re fighting, they’re fighting,” said manager Dave Roberts. “We essentially exhausted everyone on the active roster.”
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Two things were certain at the beginning of the season — Kershaw and Sasaki would be a part of the Dodger starting rotation.
But with an urgency to clinch the division, the Dodgers needed Kershaw and Sasaki as relievers at Chase Field.
Their respective outings went according to plan. Each retired all three batters faced in their respective scoreless inning.
“(They were) a huge boost,” Roberts said. “Right now, you’re betting on people. I trust Clayton, and he did a great job tonight. He got his juices going and picked us up big with a clean inning.”
Kershaw faced the minimum in the ninth on 15 pitches.
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This marked his first relief appearance since Sept. 29, 2019. It was also five days since Kershaw threw 4 1/3 innings and six strikeouts in his last regular season start at Dodger Stadium.
“I don’t think any of us really know what (the rotation) looks like in October yet,” Kershaw said. “I had a long time in between starts, so instead of throwing a bullpen, I just threw today. I’ll be ready to go on Sunday.”
The veteran pitcher managed to send the Dodgers into extra innings, giving them an opportunity to pull through in 11 innings.
“It’s an adrenaline rush, for sure,” Kershaw said. “Relieving is a different animal altogether. You have to figure out how to maintain your heartbeat and get going. But it was a lot of fun, and it’s fun to have success.”
Then, there was Sasaki in the seventh, over four months after he last pitched in a Major League game. It was his first outing since being activated from the injured list with a right shoulder impingement.
“With Roki, you just don’t know what to expect. I think his taking the opportunity to go into the ‘pen, something he’s never done, speaks volumes for this organization,” Roberts said. “I wasn’t worried about the moment being too big. He’s pitched in big ball games his entire life, in front of his entire country, so I wasn’t worried about that. I just wanted to see how the stuff played. He gave us a big boost.”
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He touched 100 mph in his first career relief appearance. He landed eight strikes among his 13 pitches in the seventh. He retired the side in order while getting two strikeouts.
“I’m happy with the results,” Sasaki said. “I just want to have more opportunities to be able to be on the Major League mound, just to work on anything else I have to work on.”
Dodgers inch closer to divisional title behind clutch relief from Kershaw and Sasaki was originally published in Dodger Insider on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.