by Megan Garcia
Nine zeroes. Eight pitchers. One more game.
The Dodgers needed a hero in the face of elimination from the National League Division Series in Game 4. They got eight of them — all relief pitchers.
A bullpen game wasn’t a concern in a win-or-go-home situation for the Dodgers. They felt it would put them in a good spot to win, and a scoreless night from the group proved it in the 8–0 win on Wednesday.
“The guys were efficient,” manager Dave Roberts said. “Understanding that they were going to have to do up-downs, go a little bit longer, potentially. The efficiency in the strike zone was huge. It gives us options for Game 5.”
The Padres recorded seven hits and worked two walks, but went 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position and left nine runners on base against Dodger relievers.
Alex Vesia led the contingency with two strikeouts among the bullpen’s eight.
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“They were fantastic,” Will Smith said. “Attacking the zone, putting guys away, putting up nine zeroes — we needed that tonight.”
The Dodgers rightfully placed their faith in the bullpen in the elimination game.
They kept the Padres scoreless through six innings in Game 1 and most of their high-leverage arms were on three days’ rest since then. Dodger relievers had surrendered six earned runs in 12 2/3 innings the series compared to 15 in 13 1/3 innings by the starters leading into Game 4.
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This was the first time the Dodgers deployed a bullpen game since Game 5 of the 2021 National League Championship Series against the Atlanta Braves. The bullpen struck out nine, walked none and gave up two runs on five hits that day. They forced the series into Game 6 with an 11–2 win.
This postseason had seen the Detroit Tigers use the strategy in their suprise run. They are now one win from winning their American League Division Series against the Cleveland Guardians.
Earlier on Wednesday, they beat the Guardians 3–0 — with a bullpen game.
The Dodgers have used the strategy at times this season in order to give their starters more rest during the season. But as the Dodgers’ starting pitching options lessened due to the season-ending injuries of Tyler Glasnow, Gavin Stone and Clayton Kershaw, Wednesday’s bullpen game was their option.
The matchup game worked to their favor, but in the end it became a historic effort.
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Here’s the roll call of relievers on Wednesday:
- Ryan Brasier: 1 1/3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 4 Batters faced
- Anthony Banda: 2/3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 4 BF
- Michael Kopech: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 4 BF
- Alex Vesia: 1 2/3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 7 BF
- Evan Phillips (Winning Pitcher): 1 1/3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
- Daniel Hudson: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 4 BF
- Blake Treinen: 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 5 BF
- Landon Knack: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 4 BF
NLDS: Dodger reliever heroes come to the rescue was originally published in Dodger Insider on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.