Friday, October 23, 2020

Dodgers’ unpredictable bullpen order is by design

The Dodgers were leading the Tampa Bay Rays 8-1 in the seventh inning when Dylan Floro entered Game 1 of the World Series. He only retired one of the three batters he faced, then gave the ball to left-hander Victor Gonzalez, who allowed both inherited runners to score.

In Game 2, the Dodgers were trailing 1-0 when Floro relieved Tony Gonsolin in the second inning. This time, Floro was tasked with retiring a different trio than he saw the day before: Willy Adames, Kevin Kiermaier and Mike Zunino. The strategy worked. Floro retired all three, Gonzalez took over again, and the left-hander faced a different group of Rays than he saw the day before.

Much of the Monday-morning quarterbacking following the Dodgers’ Game 2 loss centered around their bullpen strategy – or the lack thereof. Floro and Gonzalez were tasked with holding a late seven-run lead one night and preserving an early 1-0 deficit the next. As an example in strategy, it wasn’t obvious what Manager Dave Roberts was thinking.

“The bullpen is very flexible,” Roberts said. “They’re very talented. To be able to use guys in different spots in the order, different runs is a good matchup, is important. With Dylan and Victor specifically, I just wanted to get them back out there. I don’t think we saw their best in Game 1, so I wanted to get them back out there in Game 2. They both looked really sharp. All of our guys, just their openness to pitch whenever called upon, is huge.”

Under Roberts and president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, the Dodgers have not assigned middle relievers to pitch specific innings. They historically assign middle men to specific batters or specific portions of the opposing team’s lineup. Left-hander Adam Kolarek, for example, appeared in three games of last year’s National League Division Series, but only faced one hitter: Juan Soto, the Washington Nationals’ fearsome lefty-swinging slugger.

The one-batter strategy was dashed by a new rule requiring pitchers to face a minimum of three batters. Something else changed since last season, too. When Kenley Jansen ceded his role as the team’s designated closer in September, the Dodgers’ bullpen abandoned its last vestige of predictability.

“I just think it’s something where the culture of the bullpen, of roles and doing away with those, is something that – you’ve got to have those conversations,” Roberts said. “It takes time. To break down those walls, to have guys take down whatever part of the lineup is asked of them, is most important.”

It wasn’t just Floro and Gonzalez. Joe Kelly took down an inning in each of the first two games of the World Series: the ninth inning of Game 1 with the Dodgers ahead 8-3, and the sixth inning of Game 2 with the Dodgers trailing 5-2.

Of the Dodgers’ 10 relief pitchers (excluding those who were regular members of the starting rotation in the regular season), only Jake McGee hasn’t pitched with a lead in the postseason. Only Kenley Jansen hasn’t pitched with a deficit. The other eight have done both.

For the Dodgers, this is by design, not by accident.

CLOSE THE ROOF

The retractable roof above Globe Life Field was closed for the first time in the series before Game 3. Major League Baseball made the call in light of Friday’s “forecasted temperatures, wind chill and the possibility of rain.” The skies were cloudy and the temperature was 54 degrees at first pitch.

A closed roof ought to favor pitchers.

Rays manager Kevin Cash said closing the roof can reduce the distance of a fly ball by 10 to 15 feet. In 24 games with the roof closed this year, teams have scored 8.2 runs per game and hit 43 home runs. In 18 games with the roof open, teams scored 10.9 runs per game and hit 59 home runs.

Will Smith, the Dodgers’ designated hitter on Friday, said the change doesn’t affect his approach.

“Just gotta play good baseball,” he said.

HERE’S THE CATCH

With Smith serving as the Dodgers’ DH, catcher Austin Barnes got his second start behind the plate in the series. He’s caught each of Walker Buehler’s last two postseason starts, as well as each of Clayton Kershaw’s last two.

“There’s a lot of variables” that go into the decision, Roberts said. “One is just making sure we keep Will fresh. I also like Austin, with the rapport he has with Walker, the rhythm. It’s kind of a good situation for all of us.”

Smith began the day with a .222 batting average in 14 postseason games, while Barnes is hitting .353 in seven games.

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