LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers’ first scramble game of the postseason used four pitchers to cover the final five innings of Game 3 of the National League Division Series, and now come into Game 4 one day later on Thursday afternoon at Dodger Stadium.
The Dodgers are carrying eight relievers in this series
, not including Tyler Glasnow, who got five outs out of the bullpen in Game 1 on Saturday and will start Game 4 on Thursday.Emmet Sheehan threw 27 pitches in two innings in Game 2 on Monday, which probably
put his availability in question for Game 3, considering he’s a starting pitcher by trade. Roki Sasaki and Alex Vesia weren’t used as the Dodgers were trailing.
That leaves five other active relievers who were likely available in Game 3, and four were used. Anthony Banda and Jack Dreyer each pitched scoreless innings, then Clayton Kershaw escaped the seventh inning with no runs on the board. At that point the Dodgers trailed only 3-1, and Kershaw was torched in his second inning for five runs, turning this game into a blowout.
“You make mistakes, you pitch behind, that’s what’s going to happen,” manager Dave Roberts said. “You’ve got to make pitches against those guys.”
Considering the Dodgers punted games multiple last postseason, limiting usage of high-leverage relievers in games they were trailing, it’s hard to say Game 3 didn’t fit into that rubric, especially considering how erratic Kershaw was in his first inning of work in what was still only a two-run deficit.
A mitigating factor here was the unavailability of Tanner Scott, who was not at Dodger Stadium for Game 3 for personal reasons, Roberts said. No other information was given, so it’s unclear what Scott’s availability will be for Thursday or if he’s replaced on the roster.
That left Blake Treinen as really the only reliever left to use in the ninth inning of Game 3.
Here’s how things look for the Dodgers bullpen, and their Division Series usage to date.
The real crusher for the Dodgers in Game 3, besides the loss, was the big eighth inning meant the Phillies didn’t need to use their closer Jhoan Duran, whom they planned to get the final six outs. Duran also pitched in each of the first two games in Philadelphia.
Instead, Orion Kerkering, Taijuan Walker and Tanner Banks split the final two innings, saving Philadelphia’s best weapon for potentially an extended outing in Game 4 on Thursday.
The Phillies have used 10 of their 12 active pitchers in this series, including starter Aaron Nola in more of an extended opening role in Game 3 before Ranger Suárez picked up the ball for the next five frames. The only Phillies pitchers not yet used are left-hander Tim Mayza and old friend Walker Buehler.
Here’s how the Phillies bullpen usage looks heading into Thursday.
