For most teams, a 9-6 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies after five no-hit innings would be a season lowlight. For the Los Angeles Dodgers, it was just another day in September.
The Dodgers have been hemorrhaging games in the late innings this month. The most memorable blow-up by far was blowing a three-run lead to the Baltimore Orioles after being one out away from a no-hitter, but that moment has a lot of company.
On Tuesday night, the Dodgers wasted the best start of Shohei Ohtani’s career in blue, after the two-way superstar was yanked after the fifth inning as scheduled. Ohtani had allowed zero hits, but the Dodgers bullpen allowed eight of them, totaling nine runs in four innings.
Blake Treinen was the man tagged with the loss, as he entered a tie game in the ninth only to surrender a double, an intentional walk, and a three-run, game-sealing home run, all with two outs.
An 11-year veteran and a member of both Dodgers World Series teams this decade, Treinen can’t believe the struggles have gotten this bad.
“My brain’s kind of scrambled right now, to be honest with you,” Treinen said, per Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic. “Have a lot to dig into (Tuesday). Sometimes you look back and try to understand what’s going on.
“You try to pinch yourself when it’s not going well. A lot of us have had our moments this year. Sometimes there’s no words, no reasons to describe it.”
Treinen is now 1-6 with a 4.70 ERA in 27 appearances this year. And he’s hardly the only culprit — Tanner Scott, the team’s $72 million closer, has been brutal all season, and in September, the Dodgers’ 5.88 reliever ERA ranks fourth-worst in Major League Baseball.
Somehow, LA still holds a two-game lead over the San Diego Padres in the National League West. But if the bullpen can’t get its act together by October, the Dodgers will soon be kissing their chances at a repeat championship goodbye.