Last year, the Dodgers hardly used their bullpen in the playoffs.
asserted
Dodgers → use → playoffs
This year, they would like that to once again be the blueprint.
asserted
that → like → ?
In their bid to three-peat as World Series champions, of course, the Dodgers are expected to be led by their star-studded rotation.
asserted
Dodgers → peat → rotation
Shohei Ohtani isn’t pitching, but Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tarik Skubal, Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow are.
asserted
Yamamoto → pitch → ?
And if all goes according to plan, they will handle the bulk of the innings.
uncertain
they → go → innings
However, replicating the starting pitching excellence of last October won’t be easy.
asserted
replicating → replicate → October
A season ago, the Dodgers’ four-man rotation of Ohtani, Yamamoto, Snell and Glasnow accounted for 113 of the team’s 165 postseason innings (including relief appearances from Glasnow and Yamamoto).
asserted
rotation → account → Glasnow
Together, they posted a 2.55 ERA.
asserted
they → post → ERA
Which also means, it’s fair to assume some regression will be possible –– both in workload and effectiveness.
asserted
regression → mean → workload
Thus, having more reliable bullpen options this time around could be equally important for the Dodgers.
uncertain
having → have → Dodgers
And while that might have felt like a daunting reality earlier this year, when the unit was banged up and struggling through the middle portion of the campaign, Tuesday night was a reminder that the relief corps could be a strength in this fall’s title pursuit.
uncertain
corps → feel → pursuit
In a XX-XX win over the San Diego Padres, the Dodgers were not supposed to have the pitching matchup –– countering Padres ace Michael King with a makeshift bullpen game in a rivalry series opener at Dodger Stadium.
asserted
Dodgers → suppose → Stadium
Instead, eight different Dodgers relievers held the previous red-hot Padres at bay.
asserted
relievers → hold → bay
Several arms who once seemed like question marks continued to round into increasingly promising form.
asserted
who → seem → form
It started with opener Brock Stewart, a key right-handed weapon in the Dodgers’ bullpen who began the game with a scoreless first inning.
asserted
who → start → inning
From there, the baton was passed on down.
asserted
baton → pass → ?
Justin Wrobleski, who is in the midst of a late-season conversion to the bullpen for the second-straight year, escaped a jam in the second.
asserted
who → escape → second
Blake Treinen, who might not even be guaranteed of a postseason roster spot given the Dodgers’ relief depth, offered one of his best outings of late by issuing only a two-out walk in a scoreless third.
uncertain
who → guarantee → third
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The highlight of the night came in the fourth and fifth, when Roki Sasaki and Edwin Díaz hung a couple more zeroes in what were important appearances from each.
asserted
what → download → each
For Sasaki, the outing marked his first since returning from the injured list and making his own late-season move back to the bullpen, where he could reprise his role as closer from last year’s playoffs.
uncertain
he → mark → playoffs
He worked around a pair of singles with two strikeouts and a fastball that, even after being sidelined for the last month by a blister, sat at 99-100 mph.
asserted
He → work → mph
For Díaz, Tuesday was not only a third-consecutive scoreless outing since his own return from the IL, but his most impressive yet as he makes a bid for the playoff roster.
asserted
he → make → roster
He retired the top of the Padres lineup in order with a pair of strikeouts, and has now retired 9 of 11 batters he has faced since rejoining the active roster.
asserted
he → retire → roster
By that point, the Dodgers had already pulled away.
asserted
Dodgers → pull → point
They mounted a four-run rally with two outs in the second against King, who issued back-to-back bases-loaded walks to Tommy Edman and Mookie Betts before Freddie Freeman slashed a two-run single through the infield.
asserted
Freeman → mount → infield
The offense tacked on more runs in the fourth (on another Freeman RBI single), the sixth (on a solo home run from Tommy Edman), and the seventh (a Will Smith solo blast).
asserted
offense → tack → Edman
In what was the lineup’s toughest test in a while, they passed with flying colors.
asserted
they → pass → colors
Still, the night’s most encouraging developments came from the ‘pen, which capped off the game with two scoreless innings from Kyle Hurt, then stress-free appearances in the eighth and ninth from Alex Vesia and Jack Dreyer.
asserted
which → come → Vesia
The unit’s most trusted arms at the moment, Tanner Scott (who figures to be vying with Sasaki for the postseason closer role) and Evan Phillips, weren’t even required.
asserted
who → figure → role
Come October, the Dodgers will be hoping they don’t have to rely so heavily on their relievers again.
asserted
they → hop → relievers
But if they do, they seem significantly better-suited to do so than a year ago.
asserted
they → do → ?
Just one more way the two-time defending champions, who have now won 15 of 18 games, are hitting their stride entering the playoffs.
asserted
who → defend → playoffs
The Aporia
