The Dodgers made a business decision Sunday.
After two hard-fought, high-intensity wins to open this weekend’s pivotal four-game series in Arizona, the team had a chance to really stretch its lead in the National League West; to perhaps build a gap too insurmountable to be squandered in the season’s final month.
However, they were also wary of the worn-out state of their roster. Of a bullpen that had combined for 12 innings in those two wins. Of a lineup that has been grinding through a resurgent August that’s seen them reaffirm their place atop the division standings.
That’s why, even as Sunday’s 14-3 blowout loss to the Diamondbacks at Chase Field began to slip off the rails, manager Dave Roberts did little to stop the train wreck.
Read more: Plaschke: How one man lost Shohei Ohtani’s 40-40 home run ball and found L.A. love in return
He left rookie spot starter Justin Wrobleski on the mound to wear it in a 5 ⅓-inning, 10-run implosion (eight of the runs scored in a seven-hit, 11-batter second inning).
He pulled three of his best (and most heavily used) star players — Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts and Teoscar Hernández — in the third inning.
He effectively waved the white flag before the club had gone through the batting order even two full times.
“I think for me, as I’ve always felt, and still do feel, the player’s health is most important, and if that could be compromised at all, I will go with another option,” Roberts said pregame. “I just feel that kind of mindset overall is most beneficial for the player, the team. So I don’t think that the win-loss, the standings, will have any deciding factor on who I use today.”
He certainly wasn’t lying.
This can still be a successful desert trip for the Dodgers. They’ve already assured themselves of a series split and no worse than a four-game lead in the NL West (it stood at five games over both the Diamondbacks and San Diego Padres at the end of play Sunday).
But once Sunday’s game started to unravel, they decided it was beyond attempting to save.
Agree or disagree, they tolerated what they hope proves to be only one small step back, in a bet it will allow them to take bigger strides forward in the future.
“We got put into a tough spot today, then you’re just trying to find a way to salvage pitching,” Roberts said after the game. “I think the positive is we’re back to full strength for tomorrow with a chance to win the series.”
