All year long, the Dodgers have been reluctant to use their top relievers in “minus” games, as manager Dave Roberts likes to call contests where his team is facing an early deficit.
In Game 5 of the National League Championship Series, the cost of that strategy became clear.
A slim early-game deficit against the New York Mets ballooned to an insurmountable seven-run hole when the Dodgers left Jack Flaherty in for a five-run third inning. Even though the offense responded by scoring five times after that, the New York lead had grown too big for the Dodgers to complete a come-from-behind win.
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To Roberts, that was simply the cost of doing business — especially for a team that doesn’t believe it can afford to waste outings from its highest-leverage relievers.
“You have to kind of remain steadfast in how you use your pitchers,” Roberts argued in his postgame news conference. “Because ultimately it’s about winning four games in a seven-game series.”
Now, as the NLCS shifts back to Los Angeles, the Dodgers are banking on that cautious bullpen management to yield pennant-clinching benefits.
Needing just one more win to reach the World Series, the Dodgers will run a bullpen game in Sunday’s Game 6, Roberts confirmed during Saturday’s off-day. The hope is that the bullpen bullets they saved in Game 5 — and a similar loss in Game 2 — will pay off back at Dodger Stadium this week.
“I feel that to prevent runs, we’re in a very good spot,” Roberts said. “I don’t think we’ve exposed our high-leverage guys at all.
Indeed, even though the Dodgers’ starting pitchers this series (including Landon Knack in Game 2, who followed an opener) have combined for just 21 ⅓ innings in the first five games, the most trusted options in the team’s bullpen have largely been spared.
Michael Kopech, Evan Phillips and Daniel Hudson have each pitched just once in this series. Anthony Banda has thrown only 20 pitches over two appearances. Blake Treinen has taken down 2 ⅓ innings in two outings, but only faced one hitter twice in that span: Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor.
