The Dodgers just completed their third stretch this season playing 13 days in a row, going 8-5 in a stretch that was particularly taxing on a pitching staff in flux.
Getting Blake Snell back was a huge boon, and he pitched six innings and allowed just one run in each of his first two starts back, totaling 15 strikeouts and looking very much like one of the starting pitchers the Dodgers will count on in October.
Snell’s return gave the Dodgers a true six-man rotation again, though that only lasted five
days, until Justin Wrobleski got the rest that was expected when he was placed on the injured list Sunday with left forearm inflammation. But for those five days the Dodgers only had seven relievers on the active roster, which made for a particularly stressful time for the bullpen.
Landon Knack was called up for one day to eat innings, and he got the final eight outs last Wednesday against the Kansas City Royals in earning a save. Jonathan Hernández, who was designated for assignment on the first day of this 13-day stretch, became a free agent and signed a new deal with the Dodgers, and provided his own gift to the bullpen on Saturday, soaking up the final three innings of a loss to the Milwaukee Brewers.
The other relievers needed the rest. Edwin Díaz and Tanner Scott each pitched five times in an eight-day stretch, as did Evan Phillips in a span that started just before the 13 game days in a row. Alex Vesia and Jack Dreyer each pitched four times in six days. All five of those relievers pitched three times in four days during the 13-day stretch, Vesia doing so twice and Dreyer doing so three times if we count overlapping stretches.
“That’s the hard part, that a lot of people don’t have the information on availability and workload, and redlining guys, trying to keep guys healthy. I don’t have everyone available every single night, and what’s the cost of that night versus the next two or three games and looking also at the rest of the season,” manager Dave Roberts said last Friday. “Those things I gotta think through, and when you peel that layer back, then your options get a little bit smaller. Then you’re talking about lanes and what’s the best for a particular pitcher. All those things matter.”
In all, 17 different pitchers were used over the past 13 days. Vesia and Dreyer each pitched seven times in the 13 days, including three times in the last four days. Scott also pitched seven times in 13 days, including a season-high 27 pitches in a four-out save on Tuesday in Colorado followed by another save with a perfect 10th inning on Wednesday.
Seth Halvorsen was up for two days and impressed, pitching a scoreless 10th inning to earn the win on August 11, only to be optioned the next day in favor of a fresh arm. Same for Knack, who was optioned the day after his eight-out save. Much like Hernández, who was dispatched and then returned, Kyle Hurt was optioned on August 10 and returned six days later. Hernández got dispatched a second time during this 13-day stretch on Wednesday, when Brock Stewart returned from the injured list.
Charlie Barnes was not on the 40-man roster to start this 13-day stretch and he’s not on the 40-man roster now. But he was active for one game during the 13-day stretch, called up on August 10 only to be optioned the next day. It was the fourth time Barnes has been called up to the Dodgers this season, and the third time he’s been sent outright to the minors.
Emmet Sheehan was called up Tuesday but did not pitch in the last two days while active.
Even with the turnover, Dodgers pitching for the most part was pretty good during the 13-day stretch, going 8-5 with a collective 3.35 ERA.
Díaz is the exception, as he was terrible after returning from elbow surgery. He allowed nine runs in five innings during his six six games over the last 13 days, and blew three saves. The Dodgers were working on his mechanics to try to salvage what has otherwise been a lost season, but even that was derailed on Tuesday when he landed back on the injured list with neck inflammation.
Now the pitching staff can rest not only on Thursday, but the Dodgers have another off day on Monday as well, plus the following Monday, August 31.
Tyler Glasnow is also expected back off the injured list next week, adding another potentially stabilizing force to the pitching staff.
The Dodgers won’t play 13 days in a row the rest of the season, though they do follow up playing the first nine days of September with a 10-day stretch, making for 19 games in 20 days to open the regular season’s final month. But active rosters expand to 28 players and 14 pitchers on September 1, so they will have one more arrow in the quiver at their disposal.
