Arizona Diamondbacks base runner Tim Tawa (13) celebrates after scoring the winning run as Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Tanner Scott (66) and catcher Ben Rortvedt react in the ninth inning at Chase Field on Tuesday. Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Diamondbacks Star Says Dodgers' Tanner Scott is Way Too Predictable

Originally posted on Los Angeles Dodgers on SI
By J.P. Hoornstra | Last updated Sep 25, 2025 3:30 PM ET

If the cure to Tanner Scott's woes were obvious, the Dodgers' reliever probably would have turned his season around by now.

At least he tried something different in his last appearance.

In July and August, batters crushed Scott's four-seam fastball to the tune of a .500 batting average (9 for 18) and three home runs. This is, perhaps, less a result of his fastball being a "bad pitch," and more a result of his own poor command. Scott has had trouble getting ahead in the count all season, putting hitters in an advantageous count when they see his fastball.

In September, for example, he's thrown only 31 percent of pitches ahead in the count. At least now he's throwing his fastball less often. The pitch is still getting crushed — both of the home runs he's allowed this month came on fastballs — but at least Scott is unafraid to throw his slider when behind in the count.

Statistically speaking, the slider is Scott's best pitch right now. Tuesday night in Arizona, however, he leaned on the pitch a little too much.

Geraldo Perdomo capped the Diamondbacks' two-run ninth inning against Scott with an RBI single. The count was full when Scott left a 90-mph slider over the middle of the plate, and Perdomo stroked it into left field to walk off the Dodgers in a critical National League West matchup.

“He has a good fastball. I don’t know why he doesn’t use it more,” Perdomo said of Scott (via the Southern California News Group). “I saw the at-bat against (Ildermaro) Vargas, he threw six of seven sliders. I said he’s going to throw the same thing to me. He threw a ton of sliders, I don’t know why. I was ready for that slider.”

Whether Scott lost the ability to locate his fastball, or simply lost confidence in the pitch, remains unclear. Either way, it hasn't been a good pitch for him in months.

Unfortunately, the four-seam fastball and the slider are Scott's only two pitches. Not throwing fastballs at all leaves him with only one offering in his arsenal. Of the 21 pitches Scott threw on Tuesday in Phoenix, 18 were sliders.

Predictability is an entirely new problem for Scott — and an unwelcome development for the 31-year-old left-hander, who has spoken often about his frustrations this season. He's 1-4 with a 4.91 ERA in 59 games.

The Dodgers signed Scott to a four-year, $72 million contract in January. With the postseason beginning next week, he's effectively out of time to redeem a lost season.