The Dodgers lost another game that was both a heartbreaker and a frustrating nightmare. While this time it wasn't all on the bullpen, the relief staff bares the brunt of the blame.
A tired bullpen was handed the keys to a no hitter after rookie right-hander Emmet Sheehan, who was making his MLB debut, completed 6 no hit innings against the Giants.
Dave Roberts pulled Sheehan after 6 innings and 89 pitches and turned to Brusdar Graterol. Graterol immediately lost the no hitter and shortly thereafter half of the lead on a 2-run home run off the bat of Wilmer Flores in the 7th.
In the 8th, Roberts turned to Victor Gonzalez, who walked the leadoff batter and allow two singles, one an RBI single by Joc Pederson, before being pulled for journeyman Taylor Scott. The Giants tied it on a sac fly then took the lead after an intentional walk and an infield single.
Now, removing Sheehan at that point was 100% the right call. As for the choices out of the bullpen, well, that's really all Roberts had. And, for better or worse, those guys will continue to get opportunities.
“I’m gonna keep running them out there,” Roberts said after the 7-5 loss. “I’m gonna keep believing in them and expect good results to happen.”
Roberts was without a few key relievers on Friday night, including Shelby Miller and Evan Phillips.
“I liked the guys that we had, I really did. We had a couple guys that were down tonight, but because Emmet went six innings, I felt we had the right guys to finish the game."
The Dodgers have the second worst bullpen in baseball with a 4.90 ERA over 266.1 innings. They're chasing only the 19 win Oakland Athletics.
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