The Los Angeles Dodgers tripped all over themselves again Tuesday against the Pittsburgh Pirates, and the culprit was — you guessed it — the team's bullpen. The Dodgers entered the ninth inning of the contest with a precarious one-run lead, but reliever Evan Phillips couldn't close the door on Pittsburgh, which eked out two runs off of him to give itself the lead and eventually the 9-7 come-from-behind victory.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts went with Phillips in the ninth despite the fact that it was the third day in a row that the pitcher would see action on the mound. Phillips, however, did not feel that it was going to significantly hinder him from doing his job.
“In the moment, I really felt fine. I think naturally there’s probably some fatigue from third day in a row, travel, this and that. But really felt confident that I could help the team win a ballgame, so it’s really unfortunate we fell short,” Phillips said after the game, per Matthew Moreno of Dodger Blue.
Article Continues BelowIn the two appearances prior to the Dodgers' loss to the Pirates, Phillips pitched on back-to-back days against the Kansas City Royals on the road last Sunday and versus the Pirates in the series opener at home on Monday. He tossed for 2.0 innings combined in those contests and allowed zero runs and just two hits.
Roberts also revealed that he spoke with Phillips before Tuesday's meeting with Pittsburgh with the pitcher assuring him that he was feeling “great,” which factored into the skipper's decision to give Phillips another go, according to Jack Harris of The Los Angeles Times.