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The Los Angeles Dodgers suffered an ugly 10-7 loss to the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday night, marking an 11th loss in 14 games as the beleaguered bullpen continues to stink up the joint. The latest bullpen implosion saw Dodgers relievers give up three runs in consecutive innings and seven runs total for the game.
Is this rock bottom for Los Angeles? Dodgers manager Dave Roberts sure hopes it can't get any worse, per ESPN's Alden Gonzalez.
“It better be rock bottom,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, “as far as how we've been pitching, how we've been playing defense.”
Los Angeles and Minnesota were tied at 3-3 heading into Tuesday night's sixth inning, but Ben Casparius allowed three runs and then left the game with an injury without recording an out. He walked three hitters and threw just four strikes on 17 pitches.
The Dodgers answered with two runs in the bottom of the inning, only to see the Twins put up three more runs in the top of the seventh. Will Klein got one out but then walked the bases loaded before Edgardo Henriquez relieved him, only to commit a three-run error that led to boos from the home crowd.
This all came after prized offseason acquisition Tanner Scott, who has been a huge disappointment, hit the IL earlier in the day. It's just the latest in a long line of injuries, with relievers Blake Treinen, Michael Kopech, Brusdar Graterol and Evan Phillips all also unavailable.
Everybody knows Los Angeles is seeking bullpen help at the trade deadline, so expect a deal to come together soon. The Dodgers have been linked to a number of reliever trade candidates and will surely do whatever it takes to land at least one of them.
Despite all these woes, Los Angeles still holds a comfortable 3.5-game lead in the NL West and boasts a loaded roster. Of course, the Dodgers aren't going to win another World Series if the bullpen is a total disaster come October.
Is this truly rock bottom for the defending champs? Stay tuned.
