The Los Angeles Dodgers' bullpen didn't exactly cover itself in glory on Tuesday. They followed up Shohei Ohtani's five no-hit innings with an absolutely miserable performance; Justin Wrobleski ended up allowing five runs in the sixth inning, and Blake Treinen ended up allowing a three-run home run in the top of the ninth inning to give the Philadelphia Phillies a 9-6 lead that they would not relinquish.
The Dodgers keep on finding ways to lose against this Phillies squad, and with the playoffs looming, this is not the best time for them to be losing the plot the the way they've done as of late.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, who typically speaks highly of his players and defends them through adversity, even admitted that his team's relievers are “lacking confidence” at the moment, as per Dodger Blue on X (formerly Twitter).
There isn't much else to say to explain just how poorly the Dodgers bullpen played on Tuesday. The Dodgers were rolling, with Ohtani being his dominant self on the mound, and with a four-run cushion, it looked like LA was on their way to grabbing an all-important victory that would allow them to build a bigger cushion over the San Diego Padres in the NL West standings.
It speaks volumes to how the Dodgers trust their bullpen that they would pull Ohtani, who's in the middle of a no-hitter, to protect him from further strain, and risk letting the Phillies back into the game. But for a team that's spent a premium in building a deep bullpen, they have to get much better performances from their relievers. Tuesday night simply was not it, and this should serve as a wake-up call for their relievers to get the job done especially with October right around the corner.
Dodgers bullpen performs below expectations in 2025
The Dodgers, according to Covers.com, currently rank 20th in bullpen ERA. While they're not the only playoff-caliber team with a questionable bullpen, an ERA of 4.30 from their relief corps does not inspire much confidence. This is even truer when coming up against the best teams in MLB who will push the Dodgers to their limit come postseason time.
Tanner Scott was supposed to make the Dodgers' ninth-inning situation safer, but he appears to be succumbing to the pressure the bright lights in LA bring. Scott is the embodiment of the Dodgers' bullpen struggles in 2025, but it's not too late for them to redeem themselves.
