CINCINNATI — Ever tried making a king-sized bed with a queen-sized bedsheet? Then you know how Dodgers manager Dave Roberts feels about his bullpen these days.
Undermanned since Evan Phillips and Joe Kelly joined Ryan Brasier and Brusdar Graterol on the injured list, the Dodgers have cycled pitchers through their roster on a nearly daily basis – they’ve used 27 already this season, 19 just in the 13 games before Friday. The search for relievers capable of handling high-leverage situations is ongoing.
Remarkably, the revolving-door relief corps had a 1.91 ERA in 29 games.
Before Friday, that is.
Everything came untucked in the fifth inning as the Cincinnati Reds scored six times, turning a two-run Dodgers lead into a third consecutive Dodgers defeat, 9-6.
The three-game losing streak matches their longest this season.
“We’ve had a lot of different guys. That’s just kind of the way it’s played out. No excuse,” a frustrated Roberts said after the game. “I still felt good about him (Friday’s villain, Yohan Ramirez) coming into the game. I really did. If I didn’t I wouldn’t have put him in the game.
“But yeah, you’re still trying to learn guys and what they can and can’t handle, certain situations. When you kind of have that revolving door, that’s part of it. But that’s where we’re at. It’s not an excuse. I’ve got to continue to just learn these guys and put these guys in the best spots to have success.”
James Paxton didn’t help. One of the factors in the bullpen’s recent success has been the starting pitchers consistently getting deep into games – leaving only a little of the bed uncovered. Paxton didn’t make it through five innings Friday.
The veteran left-hander is walking hitters at a career-high rate. After back-to-back walk-free starts, he went back to it Friday, walking two of the first three batters he faced and watching them both ride home on a three-run home run by the fourth batter. His strikeout and walk totals for the season remain neck and neck (28 of each).
“I was fighting myself in the first, for sure. Just couldn’t really find a rhythm,” Paxton said.
“Just the fastball location wasn’t there tonight. I wasn’t really executing very well with that. Curveballs were kind of hit and miss. Threw some good ones, threw some not as good ones. Just overall not as sharp tonight.”
The Dodgers’ offense lurched back to life long enough to give Paxton a 5-3 lead in the top of the fifth inning. Chris Taylor had a two-run double in a four-run second inning – his first extra-base hit since Sept. 21 of last season – and Will Smith hit a solo home run in the fifth.
Paxton gave up a solo home run to Stuart Fairchild to start the bottom of the fifth but retired the next two batters before walking Steer. That brought him to 95 pitches with three right-handed hitters coming up. Paxton hasn’t thrown more than 97 in a start this season Roberts pulled him and brought in the right-handed Ramirez to get the final out in the fifth, nursing a one-run lead. It was soon in need of intensive care.
“You get two outs, pitch count gets up and you walk (Steer),” Roberts said. “I didn’t want him to see (Tyler) Stephenson again. That’s kind of where we were at.”
One out was more than Ramirez had in him. Acquired out of the DFA bin earlier this week – the New York Mets having tossed him there for a second time this season – Ramirez threw 13 pitches. He hit Stephenson with one of them, walked Santiago Espinal to load the bases then hit Nick Martini with his last pitch – perhaps his last for the Dodgers, DFAs tending to breed in the wild.
“With a two-run lead with two outs and a man on first base, I wouldn’t consider that leverage. I really wouldn’t,” Roberts said of trusting Ramirez to get through the inning. “We don’t have anyone that throws with the right hand that’s not low-leverage that can do an up-down (pitch into the next inning). So you’re trying to figure out how to get through the game. Unfortunately, it just didn’t work out.”
Ramirez came advertised as a strong option against right-handed batters – he has held them to a .191 average with a .599 OPS in his career. But only one of Ramirez’s 13 pitches even found the strike zone – a slider to Espinal that barely nipped the outside corner.
“I didn’t foresee this at all. He was rested. He’s got to go out there and just do his job. And he didn’t get it done tonight,” Roberts said. “That’s baseball. I’m still trying to learn Yohan. But I still don’t feel it was too much of a leverage spot. I think that was a good spot for him. And we just didn’t get it done tonight.”
Hitting Martini forced in the tying run. Alex Vesia came in to face Jonathan India with the bases still loaded. Vesia fell behind 3-and-0, got back to a full count then caught too much of the plate with a fastball inside. India drove it over the wall in the left field corner for a grand slam.
Two outstanding catches by Reds center fielder Stuart Fairchild robbed the Dodgers of potential extra-base hits and protected the Reds’ lead. Teoscar Hernandez hit a solo home run in the ninth.
“You’re going to through your tough stretches,” said first baseman Freddie Freeman, one of three Dodgers hit by pitches Friday. “A lot of walks on both sides. That’s always going to hurt. Clean it up tomorrow. Go get ’em.”