Dodgers’ beleaguered bullpen outlasts Shohei Ohtani in pitching duel

ANAHEIM, Calif. — After suffering a sweep at the hands of the Giants last weekend, the Dodgers cherished the reset Monday’s off day provided. 

Evan Phillips, one of the many new fathers on the Dodgers’ roster, appreciated the bonus time with his growing family. Manager Dave Roberts enjoyed a day around friends, playing a round of golf and savoring a 2003 bottle of Robert Mondavi Private Reserve.

The rest was as much mental as it was physical for a Dodgers team that had just allowed 29 runs over three games to the rival Giants, dropping to third place in the National League West. 

“At times, you want to just kind of get back out there and make it go away by winning a baseball game,” Roberts said. “But given how this past weekend went, it was a well-timed off day.”

The results over this week’s two-game sweep versus the Angels would indicate as much. 

Roberts noticed a rejuvenated group even before the Dodgers took the field Tuesday at Angel Stadium. He sensed a different edge. It helped that they had Clayton Kershaw on the mound to deliver seven scoreless innings for the third time this year, ending the skid after the Dodgers had dropped 10 of their first 15 games this month. 

But Wednesday provided an entirely different challenge: Shohei Ohtani — the two-way superstar, and soon to be the most coveted free agent in baseball history — against a maligned crew of Dodgers relievers who entered the night with the worst bullpen ERA in the NL.           

It had been a dastardly month of June for that group, beginning with a road trip in Cincinnati that saw the Dodgers bullpen surrender a five-run lead. Caleb Ferguson took the loss in the series opener after allowing three runs in a third of an inning. The next day, the bullpen conceded another lead in another Reds comeback. The struggles continued as June progressed, most notably last Friday, when Emmet Sheehan’s six-inning, no-hit debut ended in a Dodgers defeat as the scuffling bullpen blew a four-run cushion.

Over the past couple weeks, Ferguson said the Dodgers’ relievers had “a couple talks” about how to navigate “through the rough patch.” They were open about their struggles. The discussions provided a forum for players to get anything they wanted off their chests in an effort to grow as a group. 

“When you’re trying to hold all that in, over the course of 162 games, things can go haywire sometimes,” Ferguson said. “So, getting everybody back together and just reminding everybody as a group that we’re really good, I think it’s been good.” 

While reliever success can be fickle, the Dodgers could not have anticipated their bullpen being their Achilles’ heel, particularly with so many of their top contributors returning from a group that boasted the best bullpen ERA in the NL last year. 

But, as Phillips noted, there is a notable difference this season that has required some adjustments. 

“I think in years past, with some of the veteran leadership we’ve had in the bullpen — David Price, the names go on and on — having those guys in the pen were kind of like those relaxing factors that would keep everybody’s mind at ease and reassure that everything’s going to get rolling in the right direction,” Phillips said. “Not having that voice down in the pen, and kind of putting that pressure on our group, has really forced a lot of open communication.”

Through this process, Phillips believes the relievers have started to find their voice. 

Sunday marked the first step in the right direction, though the Dodgers relievers’ three scoreless innings that night came after the Giants had already tagged starter Tony Gonsolin for seven runs. 

After the off day, Ferguson and Phillips’ spotless work closed out Kershaw’s win. And on Wednesday, the Dodgers’ relievers built off one another’s success in unprecedented fashion during this trying season. 

Opponents entered the night hitting .288 this season against Brusdar Graterol, but the flamethrower began Wednesday’s bullpen game with two scoreless frames. Then came 1.1 scoreless innings from Victor González, aided by a second straight game in which a Dodgers outfielder delivered a perfect dart home. 

David Peralta prevented the Angels from striking first, catching a sinking line drive from Mickey Moniak and doubling off Luis Rengifo on a bang-bang play at the plate, finished off by another expert tag from catcher Will Smith to end the third inning.

“That set the tone,” Roberts said.

It was an embodiment of the “little things” that Roberts believed had been lacking from the Dodgers‘ play in recent weeks. 

Following González, Yency Almonte, Alex Vesia and Ryan Brasier — all of whom had ERAs north of 6.00 this year — delivered scoreless appearances. They were all needed, too, given the way Ohtani carved up the Dodgers’ lineup. It was Ohtani’s first time pitching against the Dodgers, a matchup all the more enticing considering his impending free agency and the obvious potential fit on the team he was facing. 

“I don’t think there’s a manager that wouldn’t love Shohei,” Roberts said before the game. “But right now, he’s an Angel, so I want to get hits off him, and I want him to get out four times.”

The Dodgers nearly succeeded on the latter, holding the major-league home run leader hitless with only a walk in four plate appearances. The former proved much more difficult. 

Ohtani struck out 12 batters in seven innings, going away from his sweeper and favoring his four-seam fastball in what was his best pitching performance since late April. The only blemish on his night was a cutter that caught more of the plate than he had wanted, resulting in a Freddie Freeman home run. 

“Ideally, I would’ve liked it a little lower, try to get that swing and miss,” Ohtani said afterward through an interpreter. “But if I leave it up like that to a great hitter, that’s what happens.”

Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman smashes solo homer to take lead versus Angels

A late home run from Miguel Vargas padded the lead, though Ferguson and Phillips wouldn’t need the extra insurance to close out the two-game sweep, which gave the Dodgers their eighth straight victory against the Angels and their first back-to-back shutout wins of the year. 

Now, another off day awaits — this time, one that won’t require a reset with a 20-year-old bottle of wine.

“It’s something for us to build on,” Roberts said.

Rowan Kavner covers the Dodgers and NL West for FOX Sports. He previously was the Dodgers’ editor of digital and print publications. Follow him on Twitter at @RowanKavner.

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