In the aftermath of his team’s 12-6 loss to the New York Mets on Friday night, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts lamented his inability to predict the future.
Because if Roberts had known that Andy Pages would homer twice in Game 5 of the National League Championship Series, he would have removed starting pitcher Jack Flaherty sooner than he did.
When Flaherty got into trouble in the third, Roberts might have turned to Daniel Hudson. Or maybe Michael Kopech.
Instead, Roberts stuck with Flaherty, who gave up five more runs to push the Dodgers’ deficit to 8-1. The loss cut their lead in the best-of-seven series to three to two.
Read more: Dodgers can’t overcome Jack Flaherty’s struggles in NLCS Game 5 loss to Mets
Roberts did not lack urgency. He lacked options.
Regardless of how well the Dodgers have pitched this month, what was true about their entry into the postseason remains true. They have a shortage of weapons.
Their starters cannot be counted on to win a significant number of innings. The relievers they trust in high-leverage situations can only be used so many times.
The result is that Roberts can only call on players like Blake Treinen or Evan Phillips when the Dodgers are in the lead or tied. They can’t afford to waste their premium relievers on a loss.
As it stands, they will struggle to go nine innings to win and advance to the World Series, especially with left-handed reliever Alex Vesia sidelined with a rib cage injury.
“It’s not always fun when you’re going through it … especially from my seat,” Roberts said. “But you have to be a little steady in the way you use your pitchers because at the end of the day it’s about winning four games in a seven-game series.”
The Dodgers will not play on Saturday. They are expected to play a bullpen game on Sunday in Game 6, which will take place at Dodger Stadium. Walker Buehler is lined up to start the next day in a potential Game 7, which would also take place at Dodger Stadium. Buehler lasted just four innings in his most recent start, meaning relievers could throw the bulk of the innings on Monday.
Using Treinen or Phillips on Friday could have jeopardized their availability or performance in those games.
The dynamic makes games like Friday’s extremely painful for Roberts. From the first inning it was clear that Flaherty wasn’t having it. The average velocity of his four-seam fastball was just 90 mph, nearly 2 mph less than in the regular season.
Flaherty, who Roberts said was ill, served up a three-run home run to Pete Alonso in the first inning. Flaherty pitched a scoreless second, but nearly gave up a home run to Francisco Lindor, who hit a ball to the right field wall.
When Flaherty fell apart in the third, Roberts had a choice to make: punt on the play or turn to one of his high-leverage relievers to try to keep the score close. Knowing better than anyone how explosive his offense could be, he wanted to give the team a chance to win. As much as he believed in his lineup, he also knew the chances of the Dodgers coming back were slim. The Dodgers could afford to lose. What they couldn’t afford was to lose And depleted their bullpen in the process.
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“You know there’s a cost associated with the subsequent match,” he said.
So Roberts kicked. Flaherty closed out the third inning, and reliever Brent Honeywell pitched the next 4 ⅔ innings, saving the Dodgers from having to use the pitchers they didn’t want to use.
The Dodgers maintain control of this series, but if this loss exposed anything, it was that Roberts has pulled off a high-wire act this postseason. The Dodgers have virtually no margin for error. The dominance of the bullpen hasn’t changed that. Nor did the surprisingly effective starts from Flaherty, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Buehler.
Once again, president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman put together a roster that Roberts had to be perfect for. Friedman made the same mistakes as last year and the year before. His team just gets away with it this time.
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This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.
