by Cary Osborne
With a bullpen game in front of them, the Dodgers have a rested Blake Treinen positioned to be an integral figure in Wednesday’s game Game 4 of the National League Division Series.
And whatever situation he comes into, if he enters the game at some point, odds are it would be a situation like he has found recently.
Twice in the last two weeks, Treinen had the weight of the game on his surgically repaired shoulder with Manny Machado in the batter’s box.
The first time was Sept. 25 in the top of the eighth inning and the Dodgers clinging to a 4–3 lead and hoping to get a game closer to clinching the National League West division.
Treinen got ahead 0–2 and the crowd at Dodger Stadium, feeling the moment, got louder.
Machado tried a little gamesmanship and called for time to settle the emotions.
Treinen then broke off a sweeper and struck the impact hitter out.
And then again, in NLDS Game 1 on Saturday, with two on and two out in the bottom of the ninth inning and the Dodgers leading 7–5, it was Treinen vs. Machado.
Treinen was ahead 1–2, then he threw another sweeper that Machado swung and missed on.
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“You have to be at your best, and you know that he’s going to keep at his best. Fortunately, I executed pitches when I needed to,” Treinen said. “And a time before that, he got me on an executed pitch.
“It’s fun when you face guys like that because it’s like the beautiful part about baseball is there’s an enjoyment level in baseball, and there’s also the painful side of it.”
The “time before that,” which Treinen describes, was the painful side.
Treinen allowed a solo home run to the Padres third baseman in the top of the ninth inning on July 30 and lost a Dodger lead in the same inning. The Dodgers eventually lost the game 6–5.
From that game to the end of the regular season, Treinen allowed one run in 18 1/3 innings (0.49 ERA). He didn’t allow a run over his final 15 regular season appearances.
Treinen in 2024 has been one of baseball’s elite relief pitchers — again. This despite pitching just five games in 2022 and none in 2023 after dealing with a right shoulder injury and eventually surgery.
Treinen ranked 10th in the Major Leagues in ERA (1.93) among pitchers with at least 50 appearances. It was the third time in his career he has ranked in the top 10 — also in 2018 (when he led the Majors) and 2021.
The 2022 and 2023 seasons were physically and mentally trying, but Treinen has often leaned on his faith to carry him through.
It helped him remain patient through a difficult process.
“We’re in a culture where if you don’t see something right away, we think, ‘Oh, that wasn’t meant for me, or nothing’s going to happen,’” Treinen said. “And I started reading in Matthew in the Gospels, when Jesus came as a fulfillment of prophecies, years and years and years and years and hundreds of years beforehand that people died and never saw it come to pass. But, if God’s speaking something to me, my career’s short anyways, and he says something’s going to happen, the word he gave me, I’ve got to lean on it.”
Treinen was dealt another blow early this year when he took a comebacker to the abdomen in a Spring Training game and broke ribs on March 9. The setback meant he missed the first 35 games of the regular season.
To add to that, the 36-year-old pitched with the lowest velocity of his career. Although his fastball velocity was still 94–95 mph consistently.
Yet the veteran reliever sweeper-sinker combination limited opponents to a .167 average and seven extra-base hits the entire regular season.
“With the lack of velocity that I had this year compared to what I used to be, I was wondering if everything would kind of take a hit,” he said. “I didn’t know if everything was good because of, ‘Oh, you have 97 and 99 coming at you with sink. Now you have to try to react to the lateral slider. Is it going to be as sharp?’ I got hit in the ribs on a pretty good characteristic sinker. Am I not hiding the ball well? Am I even in a position where I can pitch and be successful? And yeah, there’s doubt.”
But Treinen says the doubt subsided with his trust in God.
Manager Dave Roberts’ trust in Treinen has never wavered. The right-hander has pitched in big spots since his first year with the club. This is the sixth postseason he has pitched in.
There’s a history, resilience and dependability that has given him that trust.
And if the moment is right, he’ll have the ball in Game 4 in a big situation.
“He’s just mentally tough,” Roberts said. “The stuff is not what it was as far as the 97, 98, but the things that (bullpen coach Josh Bard) and the other pitching guys have really convinced him that the radar gun doesn’t dictate how dominant he can be. And so he’s bought into that. And you look at the surface line, the underlying, all that stuff — the hitters, which tell you most — he’s as dominant as he’s ever been with us.”
NLDS: Treinen’s comeback season has him in position to make more postseason impact was originally published in Dodger Insider on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.