For the 13th year in a row, the Los Angeles Dodgers are advancing to the NLDS, having taken care of the Cincinnati Reds in the Wild Card Round to earn a first-class ticket to the City of Brotherly Love.
Was the process stress-free? No. In fact, one could say it was actually quite stressful, with the Dodgers' bullpen giving up runs in each game before ultimately pulling out wins when it counted. And yet, because it's October and the Dodgers have effectively built a roster for this time of year, they ultimately secured the win thanks to impressive play from all over their roster.
On the mound, the starting duo of Blake Snell and Yoshinobu Yamamoto looked as advertised, recording 18 combined strikeouts versus just eight hits for a combined two allowed runs over 13.2 innings. Both pitchers came correct with their best stuff, and the first two-thirds of each game flew by as a result.
But then, the Dodgers had to go to their bullpen, and that's when things got tense.
With Dave Roberts going to his bullpen to the jeers of fans at Dodger Stadium, fans watched as typical relievers like Anthony Vesia to Edgardo Henriquez, and Blake Treinen turned in mixed results. Fortunately, starters like Emmett Sheehan and Roki Sasaki took care of business in relief duty in Game 2 in order to put the Reds away, but especially in Game 1, things got tense despite incredible efforts from the offense. If the Dodgers are going to keep their win streak going as they face off against the Philadelphia Phillies, they are going to need to shore up their relief options before they find themselves on the wrong side of a Kyle Schwarber at-bat with the lead on the line.
For better or worse, the Dodgers are going to have to call on a player like Treinen in a high-leverage situation with a game on the line, and if he can't leave the Phillies looking, it could prove disastrous.
The Dodgers need Blake Treinen to step up vs. the Phillies
There's no two ways about it: Blake Treinen was downright bad for the Los Angeles Dodgers in the regular season in 2025.
A certified hero of the Dodgers' 2024 World Series run, with multiple high-leverage single innings and an incredible two-inning showdown against the New York Yankees in Game 5 to set Walker Buehler up for a game-winning ninth inning, Treinen was rewarded with a new, long-term deal that would keep him under contract through the 2026 season.
Now granted, the Dodgers did hedge their bet ever so slightly by adding Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates as high-leverage options out of the bullpen in free agency, but Treinen was still supposed to be a big part of the pitching staff all the same, especially since he could pitch the ninth inning one game and the sixth the next.
Fast forward to the 2025 MLB season, and Treinen's campaign was derailed before it even really began, landing on 60-day IL with forearm tightness and being held out of action for the first half of the summer.
Returning to the mound after some time in OKC, Treinen struggled mightily with his command, a situation made all the more challenging because opposing teams started to figure out his game. A noted sinker thrower, opposing hitters simply stopped swinging at his signature pitch, leaving Treinen to get behind in the count more often than not, and often resulting in batters getting on base via balls.
Fortunately, in his two playoff appearances, Treinen has looked like his vintage self, striking out two of the four batters he faced on 19 pitches without allowing a single walk. Sure, he's still throwing sinkers, but they are rarely going in the dirt, with the veteran pitcher instead taking advantage of early strikes to get swing and misses when it counts.
If the Dodgers are going to win games in Philadelphia, let alone back in Chavez Ravine when the series returns, they're going to need players like Treinen to step up and play to the back of their baseball cards, pushing aside any regular season woes in favor of a grander prize.
In baseball, pitching is one of the most volatile aspects of the game. Vesia and Henriquez were arguably the Dodgers' two most consistent relief options during the regular season, alongside Anthony Banda, who wasn't on the Wild Card Round roster, and neither turned in elite stuff against the Reds.
But when push comes to shove, Roberts is going to call Treinen's number in high-leverage spots in the hopes of letting the Dodgers live to fight another inning. If he can live up to those expectations, the Dodgers will be in good shape thanks to having Sheehan, Sasaki, Clayton Kershaw, and Tyler Glasnow available out of the bullpen. But if he struggles, it could lead to another blown save in a crucial situation and put the Dodgers in a rough spot with their backs against the wall.
Bonus: Keep on swinging Kike Hernandez
When news broke that Tommy Edman would be largely relegated to the infield for the Dodgers in the postseason in order to limit the wear and tear on his ankle heading into the regular season, it put a massive spotlight on Kike Hernandez.
One of the more veteran players on the Dodgers' roster, a super utility man with a reputation for being able to play any position minus catcher – even pitcher – Hernandez missed time with elbow inflammation, but eventually returned to the roster in late August as he geared up for postseason action.
And then the playoffs kicked in, and Hernandez turned things on in a major way.
After looking really good during the final week of the regular season, Hernandez turned on the jets in the postseason, recording four hits over his eight total at-bats against the Reds, recording an RBI and three runs on the way to a 1.125 OPS. Hernandez has been consistently finding ways to get on base for the Dodgers as a bottom-of-the-lineup bat and setting up hitters like Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, and Freddie Freeman for RBI situations.
If Hernandez keeps playing up to that level, the Dodgers might really be in a good position against the Phillies, especially if Edman starts over Miguel Rojas at second base, giving the team eight legit bats against a very good Philadelphia team, with the team a hot Ben Rortvedt run away from having nine legit bats in the NLDS.
