LOS ANGELES, CA – SEPTEMBER 18, 2025: Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Blake Treinen (49) pitches in relief against the San Francisco Giants in the seventh inning at Dodger Stadium on September 18, 2025 in Los Angeles, California.(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

The Los Angeles Dodgers are going to the 2025 MLB playoffs. But whether they have a former postseason hero coming out of their bullpen remains to be seen.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts spoke about Blake Treinen’s ongoing struggled and why he is hopeful the LA reliever will be able to find his form when the postseason starts.

The Dodgers (88-68) clinched a playoff berth Friday and have a magic number of three to clinch the National League West. But Treinen, who was 2-0 with a 2.19 ERA and 18 strikeouts in 12 1/3 innings last October, is 1-7 this year with a 5.55 ERA and minus-0.6 bWAR and has been especially bad in September.

What Did Dave Roberts Say About Blake Treinen’s Recent Struggles?

Treinen was having another remarkably consistent year into September until the wheels came off starting in Baltimore — on the near-no-hitter loss to the Orioles.

But Treinen is 0-5 with one blown save and a 15.19 ERA in 5 1/3 innings over his past seven appearances since Sept. 6.

Two of those losses came against the Philadelphia Phillies, who the Dodgers may see in the playoffs down the road, and two of the defeats came against the rival San Francisco Giants, including his five-base-runner, three-run implosion over 2/3 of an inning Sunday.

Treinen entered with the Dodgers leading 1-0, after a brilliant seven-shutout-inning performance from Emmett Sheehan. But he gave up three straight hits, including Patrick Bailey’s game-tying double, then walked Rafael Devers and Willy Adames, putting LA behind.

“He just wasn’t getting [swing and] miss,” Roberts said. “I don’t know if he was being too fine. I thought the stuff started getting better with the Adames at-bat, where he had count leverage but couldn’t put him away.

“We need him. It was a perfect opportunity for him to put up a zero, and he didn’t get it done.”

What Did Dave Roberts Say About Blake Treinen In The Playoffs?

Treinen has been one of the Dodgers’ high-leverage relievers since 2020, but LA has has not seen him slump like this since 2020.

Back then, Roberts had Kenley Jansen and a plethora of trustworthy arms — including Treinen — to rely on. But this year, the Dodgers are entering with a bunch of question marks, including Treinen and closer Tanner Scott, who has a minus-0.5 bWAR and 4.64 ERA in 58 appearances as the closer.

Roberts knows how important Treinen is to the Dodgers, especially since his starting pitchers have not given them depth — and each game in the playoffs is a race to see which team can get 27 outs by any means necessary.

Still, Roberts is confident in his setup man to flip the switch when the playoffs start next week.

“Once you get to the postseason, then nothing else matters except competing and doing your job,” Roberts said. “I do think that [Treinen] is caught up in the mechanic part of it, and the thought is the performance in the postseason, the success in the postseason has been fantastic, and sometimes there is something that kind of triggers in your mind — the familiarity and the competition and you get on a run and get hot.

“That’s what we’re expecting from Blake.”

Pat Pickens is an experienced sports writer and media personality who has written for outlets like NHL.com, the Associated Press, the New York Times and USA Today. He covers the NFL, NBA, NHL and NBA as a breaking news contributor at Heavy. More about Pat Pickens

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