The Dodgers bullpen has been an ever-changing beast this season. Every team deals with injuries, but LA has had scores of relievers hit by the injury bug. With Tommy Kahnle, Victor González, and Blake Treinen all sidelined, the Dodgers have had to shuffle the deck frequently.
Prior to the middle game of the Nationals series, the Dodgers decided to option Reyes Moronta to Triple-A after an incredibly ineffective outing against Washington on Monday night. On top of walking two batters, he also threw a a few wild pitches to add some additional pressure. He walked away unscathed, but it was a tightrope act that the Dodgers apparently weren't willing to to sit through a sequel of.
Moronta has given up six earned runs in just 4.1 innings of work in the month of July.
To replace Moronta, the Dodgers recalled lefty Garrett Cleavinger. Cleavinger hasn't pitched in a big league game since May, but he's dominated with the OKC Dodgers (Triple-A Dodgers). He's logged 47 strikeouts in 29 innings, but that success didn't translate on Tuesday night against Washington.
Cleavinger entered the game with LA holding onto a narrow 3-2 lead. Nationals first baseman Josh Bell reached base on a throwing error by Gavin Lux. Cleavinger struck out Nelson Cruz and Keibert Ruiz, but then surrendered a two-run home run to Luis Garcia.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts decided to leave the lefty reliever in for the ninth inning, which turned out to be a disaster.
Cleavinger gave up three more runs before Doc finally pulled the plug and finished the night with four earned runs on three hits.
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