Their top two relievers had pitched the two previous nights, so the Dodgers had little choice but to turn to J.P. Feyereisen, a 31-year-old journeyman trying to work his way back from shoulder surgery, in the seventh inning with the score tied against the San Diego Padres on Sunday.
A walk, a single, a walk, and a Jurickson Profar three-run double later, the Padres were on their way to a 6-3 victory.
If Brusdar Graterol or Blake Treinen was available, manager Dave Roberts could have turned to one of the two veteran right-handers in that situation against the Padres. Or maybe one or both of them would have pitched in the previous two games, freeing up closer Evan Phillips or setup man Daniel Hudson to work Sunday.
But the hard-throwing Graterol, who went 4-2 with a 1.20 ERA in 68 games last season, is on the 60-day injured list because of right-shoulder inflammation and won’t be eligible to return until May 20.
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And Treinen, who sat out most of 2022 and all of 2023 because of shoulder injuries but appeared to be regaining his 2021 form (6-5, 1.99 ERA in 72 games) with 3 ⅔ scoreless innings in spring training, has been sidelined since a March 9 line drive bruised a lung and fractured several ribs and is not expected back until early May.
Those two injuries, combined with the early season struggles of two right-handers who were dominant for the Dodgers in 2023, have thinned out a bullpen that was expected to be a strength but has looked a bit wobbly while cycling through 15 different relievers in the first month of 2024.
“There have been some games where we’ve given up runs late or given up some crooked numbers and not allowed our offense to come back, where if you had those two leverage guys, I think things could have been different,” Roberts said.
“The hard part is just making sure we stay the course and check all the boxes with Blake, who’s coming [back] first, and then with Brusdar, so we can get them and keep them once they get back. But their presence has certainly been missed.”
Some injuries and inconsistencies in a rotation that entered Friday night’s game against the New York Mets with a 4.15 ERA (16th in baseball) and was averaging just under 4 ⅔ innings per start has strained a bullpen that has…