Dodgers bullpen falters again in late-game loss to Astros

The Dodgers have yet to make a major move before Tuesday’s trade deadline.

But their list of staffing needs seems to grow longer by the day.

The Dodgers’ latest concern: a suddenly unstable bullpen late in games, a bullpen that cost them dearly in a 7-6 loss to the Houston Astros on Saturday.

Once up 5-0 thanks to a strong start from rookie left-hander Justin Wrobleski, the Dodgers had to face some of their most reliable relievers on the mound at Minute Maid Park.

Former closer Evan Phillips inherited a tough two-on-two situation in the sixth inning — and then promptly allowed four straight RBI singles, suffering the latest stumble in a month-long slump that includes an 11.42 ERA over his last 11 outings.

Leading 6-4 in the eighth inning, the Dodgers saw their lead evaporate for good against Daniel Hudson, who allowed two runs, three hits and a key walk with two outs, ending his streak of nine outings without a score this month.

The final blow came in the ninth inning, when Alex Bregman took a high sinker from Blake Treinen – who was starting his second inning of work – and launched a game-winning home run over the railroad tracks well above left field.

Of all the painful losses the Dodgers have suffered (62-44) this season, Saturday’s was among the most significant.

And for a team that already needed a front-row starter, was looking for reinforcements down low and had yet to make a notable deal in a market that has heated up in recent days, the bullpen emerged as another potential issue the team needed to address before Tuesday’s deadline.

“I think we take a lot of pride in being a pillar of the team,” Phillips said of the team’s entire reliever corps. “We haven’t been that way up until now.”

Heading into the sixth inning, Saturday was shaping up to be an unexpected victory for an undermanned Dodgers team.

They were missing Freddie Freeman (who was placed on the family emergency list after returning to Los Angeles on Friday) and Mookie Betts (who remains several weeks away from returning from a broken hand) and were starting with five players with batting averages of .205 or lower.

Still, they took the lead thanks to big games not only from Shohei Ohtani (two hits, including a 443-foot home run that cleared the second deck in right field), but also from Cavan Biggio (two hits, including a home run in the eighth inning), Gavin Lux (who reached base twice and had an RBI from third in the batting order) and Kiké Hernández (whose three walks helped lead off a couple of early rallies).

Meanwhile, Wrobleski silenced the powerful Astros (55-49) over the first five innings, getting quick outs with his 90 mph fastball despite striking out just two batters.

“Obviously, any time you play a team like that, you’re excited to play them because they’re a good ballclub,” Wrobleski said. “So just try to get out there and attack the zone and play my game.”

The course of the evening, however, changed following a questionable decision by Roberts in the sixth round.

With two outs and runners on the corners, Roberts decided to replace Wrobleski with Phillips, who was removed from the designated closer role last week. The move was defensible, with a run of right-handed hitters expected in Wrobleski’s third stint in the order. Given the 5-0 score, it also seemed like a low-risk move, even amid Phillips’ recent struggles.

Instead, Phillips allowed four straight singles that produced runs: a line drive by Yanier Diaz, an infield single by Jeremy Peña and two shallow bloopers by Jake Meyers and Victor Caratini.

“They made some good swings on what I thought were really good pitches,” Phillips said, lamenting all the soft contact that found a way to fall. “Those kinds of situations, I can execute well for the rest of the day, but I have to get guys out.”

Hudson faced similar difficulties in the eighth as the Dodgers protected a 6-4 lead.

Diaz hit a one-out triple before scoring on a single by Peña. A two-out walk kept the inning alive, allowing Jon Singleton to tie the game on a full-count single.

The calamity was complete in the bottom of the ninth inning, when Bregman hit his game-winning home run off Treinen to hand the Dodgers their seventh loss of the season while leading after six innings.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts makes a pitching change during the sixth inning against the Astros on Saturday in Houston.

(Kevin M. Cox / Associated Press)

When did Roberts feel the shift in momentum?

“As soon as I took out Wrobleski, to be completely honest,” he admitted.

And while Roberts tried not to second-guess his decision, his relievers’ collapse highlighted another area of ​​concern heading into Tuesday’s trade deadline.

While the bullpen has been good overall this season (even after Saturday, their 3.65 ERA as a group ranks eighth in the major leagues), the unit has shown signs of decline amid a heavy workload over the past two months. Since Yoshinobu Yamamoto was injured on June 15 — the first in a rash of injuries within the Dodgers rotation — the bullpen has thrown a total of 145 ⅔ innings, tied for second in the major leagues over that span.

His ERA during that span: 5.00, sixth worst in the major leagues.

As a result, the team had to contend with increasingly tired arms. Phillips’ demotion to relief pitcher compounded the late-game pitching complications.

And now, in addition to their needs at the top of the rotation (where Garrett Crochet and Jack Flaherty remain options) and the bottom of the order (where everyone from Luis Robert Jr. to Tommy Pham and Jesse Winker remains available), the bullpen suddenly appears to need deadline help.

The Dodgers have some internal depth on the way back, with Brusdar Graterol, Ryan Brasier and Michael Grove all on rehab assignments with Triple-A Oklahoma City.

But the trade market offers even better potential alternatives, with established closers such as the Miami Marlins’ Tanner Scott (a player who has been linked in reports to the Dodgers this week) and the Oakland A’s’ Mason Miller (a 25-year-old right-hander with a 100 mph fastball) available as possible options.

“At the end of the day, we’re in first place and you’ve got to win games somehow,” Roberts said of the state of his bullpen. “But sometimes you have to deal with challenges. And when players are stretched, when you use them, it’s a cost. Absolutely.”

Something the Dodgers will have to seriously consider addressing as they navigate a very important trade deadline over the next three days.