Starting on Friday night, the Dodgers are going back to face the Padres in the two teams’ last meeting of the regular season. They have a one-game lead; it’s better than the one-game deficit going into the last series, but it’s still sort of unacceptable that the Dodgers couldn’t use their four-game set against the Rockies to pad it. Instead, they settled for a series split in a run of games that made Dodgers fans furious.
The big story from the two lost games were defense and pitching. Two misplays from Teoscar Hernández directly led to the Dodgers suffering a walk off, and then Shohei Ohtani turned in his worst start of the season so far.
Meanwhile, the bullpen carousel is turning at its usual clip. The latest moves: Alexis Díaz was optioned and trade deadline acquisition Paul Gervase was called up, only to be sent down exactly a day later and replaced by Matt Sauer. Gervase gave up a run in two innings in his Dodger debut. The biggest worry, though, is that the Dodgers have been completely without a proper closer.
However, outrage and panic might be a little outsized. Tanner Scott is set to come off the IL on Friday, and Kirby Yates will follow on Saturday — right in the nick of time for what could be the Dodgers’ most important series of the season.
Tanner Scott, Kirby Yates returns will hopefully signal turnaround for Dodgers bullpen
Other injured players are also on their ways back. Hyeseong Kim and Kiké Hernández began rehab assignments in Triple-A on Thursday, and Roki Sasaki completed his second start (though it’s unclear how much help he’ll actually offer). Michael Kopech has also been in OKC since Aug. 14 and expects to be back by Aug. 27.
Their timing couldn’t be better. The Dodgers have a relatively smooth schedule to close out their regular season — after they get around the Padres.
There are caveats, of course. Scott and Yates weren’t pitching well before they went onto the IL, and they won’t be of any help to the club if that persists when they’re reinstated to the roster. The Dodgers could keep making the mistake of giving Michael Conforto a regular role in the outfield even when Kim and Hernández are back.
The Dodgers don’t seem at all worried about getting to the postseason one way or the other. Even if they finish the season in second place behind the Padres, their record will probably be good enough to edge out one of the Mets or Reds, who are fighting for the last spot. Getting a wave of players back all at once must add to that feeling of reassurance.
Some caution is still valid, though. Having these guys back won’t mean anything if they don’t perform, but their track records suggest they will. So don’t count on the outfield aligment and bullpen structure causing fits for much longer.
