Shohei Ohtani pitched six scoreless innings before the Dodgers’ bullpen gave up the lead in a 5-4 loss to the Diamondbacks.
Manager Dave Roberts expressed frustration with his bullpen, suggesting some pitchers are ‘scared’ or ‘pitching too careful.’
The Dodgers are considering using veteran starter Clayton Kershaw in relief due to ongoing bullpen struggles.
PHOENIX — Shohei Ohtani yelled.
His teammates groaned.
The Los Angeles Dodgers saw their season flash before their eyes.
No, this was not the Dodgers’ reaction after watching their bullpen cough up yet another game Tuesday, with closer Tanner Scott blowing his 10th game in their 5-4 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks.
This was watching Shohei Ohtani take a 105.8-mph line drive off his left palm in the third inning.
‘I was hoping it didn’t hit his body,’ Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. ‘Then, I was just actually looking for more of a reaction from him. So the reaction was muted. So I was pretty hopeful.
‘He’s going to be sore tomorrow I’m sure, on the palm, but that was probably best case scenario.’
While Roberts was livid and the Dodgers were in disbelief over their latest bullpen meltdown, they at least were able to take solace after watching Ohtani show just why he could be baseball’s most valuable weapon in the month of October.
Ohtani, in his longest start since Aug. 9, 2023, pitched six electrifying innings, striking out eight batters and allowing just five hits without a walk. He threw a mix of six different pitches, firing 19 fastballs of at least 99-mph_including a 101.2-mph fastball past D-backs All-Star Corbin Carroll in the fourth inning – and generated 16 swings-and-misses.
‘Shohei was fantastic,’ Roberts said. ‘I mean, he was fantastic.’
Ohtani, who threw five hitless innings in his last start against Philadelphia, struck out eight of the first 13 batters he faced. No Diamondbacks player reached second base until he began to tire in the sixth, giving up two of his five hits, and extending his scoreless streak to 16.2 innings, yielding a 0.46 ERA in his last four starts.
‘I thought he left it all out there tonight, which we certainly needed,’ Roberts said. ‘I feel good about getting him through the sixth inning. That’s something for us to build on.’
Said Ohtani: ‘I think this is a really good step towards the right direction.’
Next stop: The postseason.
The Dodgers’ tentative plan is for Ohtani to start Game 3 of the best-of-three wild-card series against the winner of the final wild card spot between the New York Mets, Cincinnati Reds and Diamondbacks.
If the Dodgers win the wild-card series in two games, behind Blake Snell and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Ohtani will start Game 1 of the best-of-five NL Division Series – against most likely the Philadelphia Phillies.
‘I don’t think it makes sense for me to state my preference,’ Ohtani said. ‘I’m sure there is a strategic thought behind which game I’m going to start.’
The Dodgers will keep Ohtani as a starter for at least the first two rounds of the postseason, but if the Dodgers need to close out a potential clinching game in the NLCS or the World Series, Ohtani could come out of the bullpen, just as he did in the 2023 World Baseball Classic when he struck out Mike Trout to secure Japan’s championship.
Really, everything is on the table for the Dodgers trying to repeat as World Series champions with no one they can trust in late relief.
Three-time Cy Young award winner Clayton Kershaw has now even emerged as a realistic option to pitch in late relief Wednesday instead of using Scott. It was the fourth consecutive road game that Scott has allowed a walk-off hit.
Scott, inheriting a 4-3 lead, opened the ninth inning by hitting Ildemaro Vargas, walked Tim Tawa on four pitches when he was trying to bunt, and after a sacrifice bunt, a sacrifice fly and a single by Geraldo Perdomo, it was all over.
Scott threw 21 pitches, and only seven for strikes, with 18 sliders.
‘It’s hard to absorb these games, especially games that we need to win,’ Roberts said. ‘I just see (them being) careful, the getting behind, the walking guys, the hit basemen. That’s just a sign of you’re either scared or you’re pitching too careful. That’s just the facts.’
Roberts, exasperated sitting behind his desk in the visiting manager’s office at Chase Field, was just getting started.
‘You’re not having the conviction and executing pitches,’ Roberts says, ‘for fear of failure and getting hit. And at this time of season, you’ve got to put everything out there and trust that it’s going to be good. Because when you pitch behind, and afraid to make a mistake, and hang a breaking ball, that’s when bad things happen. …
‘As a whole, that’s what I’m seeing. And hitters can smell that. … I can continue to support them, but I’ve got to find some guys that can pitch with conviction and go out there and compete.
‘There’s still time certainly, but there’s not much time left. Our starters can’t go nine every night, so we’re looking for some guys to step up. We’re looking for some guys to step up. … You got to lay it all out there. You can’t pitch scared. You just can’t. You can’t get scared for fear of failure. Right out, we got to get our guys out of that mind state.’
This is why the Dodgers are considering using Kershaw in relief Wednesday and still start him Sunday in the final regular-season start of his career. It may be a desperation move, but the Dodgers are now only 1 ½ games ahead of the San Diego Padres for their 12th NL West title in 13 years.
Desperate times calls for desperate measures, and certainly, Kershaw won’t be scared.
‘I think he’s earned the right,’ Roberts said. ‘He’s open to it. And just kind of where we’re at, we’ve got to get the best guys to get outs. So if Clayton is viable, and he’s viable, then we’re going to use him. That’s just kind of where we’re at.
‘We’ve had almost six months to make decisions and see where things go. … Guys have got to do their job. You have to do your job. I can’t put it any more nice.’
The Dodgers, who plan to use starter Emmet Sheehan in the bullpen during the postseason, also are activating Japanese rookie Roki Sasaki on Wednesday. Sasaki, who had virtually every team in baseball bidding for his services, has been a huge disappointment, and hasn’t pitched in the big leagues in four months. The Dodgers will experiment using him in relief after being a starter his entire career.
‘We have a lot of viable options, but the most important thing is he’s willing to do whatever he can for the team,’ Roberts said. ‘He’s going to be in the pen. We don’t know what role. I think he’s embraced it. If he’s on the postseason roster, anything’s on the table.
‘But right now, we need to win baseball games.’
