KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Reporting late for work is frowned upon in most jobs. But Justin Wrobleski is making it work.
Pitching in a ‘bulk’ role behind an ‘opener’ – buzzwords of baseball’s new-age pitching vocabulary – Wrobleski allowed just three hits over six scoreless innings as the Dodgers beat the Kansas City Royals 5-1 Sunday afternoon.
Kiké Hernandez and Will Smith hit home runs to back Wrobleski as the Dodgers concluded their six-game road trip to Denver and Kansas City with five wins.
“I just think that regardless of opponent, we just focus on playing good baseball, and I think that’s what we’ve done for quite some time,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “It’s kind of what we do.”
The Royals might have lost the series but they paid a lot of bills. The three games drew a total of 100,436 fans to Kauffman Stadium, the most for a three-game series in KC since June 2017 against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Sunday’s crowd had to sit through a 62-minute rain delay before seeing any action. Lou Trivino opened for the Dodgers and gave up a run before facing his third batter. Jonathan India led off with a soft single, moved to second on a wild pitch and scored on Bobby Witt Jr.’s double.
Wrobleski took over in the second inning, and the Royals got just one more runner past first base in the game. In the third, Wrobleski walked the No. 9 hitter to start the inning. He went to third on Maikel Garcia’s two-out single before Wrobleski got out of the inning.
Wrobleski cruised through the rest of his outing, retiring 12 of the final 14 batters he faced and finishing with six strikeouts.
“Coming out of the ‘pen, I think he’s done a nice job of being on the attack from Pitch One,” Roberts said. “I think he’s in the strike zone, commanding all of his pitches. I think he’s got a nice rhythm. Feels like hitters are on their heels. The fastball certainly is playing up. And he’s been efficient with his pitches.”
He needed 15 pitches or fewer to get through five of his six innings and threw 83 total, walking just one.
“I think that’s always going to be the focus,” he said of trying to get ahead in counts. “Every time I go out there, treat it like the first inning. Get ahead of the first guy, get the first guy out. Just try and keep it simple that way. That’s kind of been my blueprint for the last month.”
It has worked. After rough spot starts in Washington (in April) and St. Louis (earlier this month), Wrobleski’s past four appearances have been in ‘bulk’ relief, and he has given up just four earned runs in 20⅓ innings with 21 strikeouts.
“He’s changed a lot,” Roberts said of Wrobleski who had a 5.70 ERA in his first taste of the big leagues last season. “We’ve always valued him and thought a lot of him as far as the talent. But right now, he’s getting major-league hitters out. I think he’s understanding command matters. Conviction of pitches, sequencing, all that stuff, he’s showing consistently he’s getting good major-league hitters out. So it’s good to see his growth. And in the spirit of getting opportunities while earning them, he’s doing that.”
Wrobleski said a few adjustments in his delivery unlocked some added velocity to his fastball. Six of his eight swings-and-misses came on the fastball Sunday.
“I think just unfortunately having that bad one in Washington, honestly, set me back in a good way to where I had to go back down, make a few adjustments,” he said. “Since I made those adjustments, everything is just kind of synced up better as far as timing to where i could go back to being myself – not from those adjustments but just kind of like mentality-wise. It was, ‘Alright we’re going to make these changes and then we’re going to do what you’re good at.’ I think I’ve done a good job of that this month.”
Kiké Hernandez gave Wrobleski a lead in the bottom of the second inning by doing what he’s always been good at — but hadn’t been this season. Hernandez came into the game hitting just .185 with a .660 OPS against lefties – a big part of his role with the Dodgers. His two-run home run off Royals left-hander Kris Bubic was his first since May 17.
“He’s on this roster because obviously he’s a heck of a baseball player. I trust him anywhere on the diamond,” Roberts said. “Today he homers off a lefty, it’s great. It’s good for his confidence. It makes the roster make more sense. And it’s just good to see him get rewarded.”
Will Smith added a solo home run in the sixth inning and the Dodgers put the game away with two more runs in the seventh inning on doubles by Andy Pages and Max Muncy and an RBI single by Miguel Rojas.
Rojas was out trying to advance on a ball in the dirt and jammed his left ring finger on the base. He came out of the game and will have X-rays taken of the finger.
Relievers Kirby Yates and Jack Dreyer finished off the combined five-hitter with a perfect inning each.