Immediately following Dodgers right-hander Bobby Miller‘s 11th start of the 2024 regular season which ended in an ugly 10-1 loss to the Angels of Anaheim at The Big A on Wednesday night, a noticeably annoyed Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters that the performance of the 25-year-old Elk Grove Village, IL native and Dodgers first-round draft pick in 2020 out of the University of Louisville needs to be “better.”
“I think where we’re at right now with certain players, that Bobby, in this particular case, performance matters. It’s just gotta be better. You just can’t come out there and give up five runs and put us behind the eight-ball,” said Roberts.
(SportsNet LA)
What’s more, Roberts’ comments came only hours after it was being (very) widely reported that 26-year-old Dodgers right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto was nearing activation from the 60-day injured list for “a right triceps injury” and “a rotator cuff strain.”
You don’t need a Master’s Degree to figure this one out. Then again, with MLB rosters expanded to 28 this past Sunday, Miller’s demotion is not a sure thing … yet.
In his 5.0 innings pitched on Wednesday, Miller allowed seven earned runs on five hits, including a back-breaking three-run home run by Angels center fielder Mickey Moniak in the bottom of the first inning to give the Halos a 5-0 lead before the seats were warm, this after walking Angels left fielder Taylor Ward on seven pitches and hitting Angels shortstop Zach Neto on his second pitch to him.
“I think it’s really just a pitch-selection thing on my part, not executing,” Miller said postgame. “You know, like, it’s not just the homer, it’s what happened before the home run, which is the walk, the leadoff walk, are really unacceptable.”
Miller is now 2-4 on the season with a 7.79 ERA, 48 walks, and 25 strikeouts over his 49.2 innings pitched. He has also served up 15 home runs, which is tied for second most on the team with right-hander Tyler Glasnow (134.0 IP), three behind Gavin Stone‘s 18 (140.1 IP).
Play Ball!
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