"Although not on the Wild Card roster (due to his 94-pitch outing on Sunday), future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw has been seen as a potential option to provide relief to the Dodgers bullpen situation in October. When manager Dave Roberts was asked if the Dodgers will include the three-time Cy Young award winner on the NLDS roster, he appeared to be counting the minutes until the Dodgers advance. "If we're fortunate enough," Roberts said, "he'll be on the DS roster, yes.""
"The bullpen woes are unfortunately not new to LA this season, and relief pitchers leaving a sour taste after a starting pitcher tossed a gem has been a familiar feeling in September. If the Dodgers want to become baseball's first repeat champions in 25 years, though, these performances can't be tolerated. Eight runs of support going into the eighth inning was a luxury the Dodgers had on Tuesday, but as October soldiers on, there needs to be more arms that LA can rely upon."
Blake Snell delivered seven strong innings as the Dodgers built an 10-2 advantage, but the bullpen allowed a 59-pitch eighth inning that produced three earned runs, four walks, and one strikeout, narrowing the margin to 10-5. The shortened Wild Card roster excluded Clayton Kershaw after a 94-pitch outing, but Kershaw has emerged as a potential October relief option. Kershaw has a 1.69 ERA across his last three outings, including a relief appearance against the Diamondbacks. Persistent late-inning struggles highlight the need for additional reliable arms if the Dodgers hope to repeat as champions.
Read at Dodgers Nation
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