It's late in August, but the Los Angeles Dodgers have a major red flag as they make their push for a third consecutive National League West title.
Similar to last season, the Dodgers struggles seem to be directly related to their bullpen. LA took late leads into the latter innings in Oakland on both Tuesday and Wednesday, but each time their bullpen blew the lead, and the Athletics swept the two-game series by the Bay.
On Tuesday, it was A.J. Ellis who sent the first pitch he saw from Fernando Rodriguez in the eighth inning over the center field wall for a three-run home run. The big blast gave the Dodgers a commanding 4-1 lead with just six outs to go before handing Clayton Kershaw his 11th victory over the season.
Pedro Baez came in to hold the A's at one-run in the bottom half of the inning, but quickly coughed up the lead allowing a single and two doubles before being taken out of the game for J.P. Howell. By then it was too late, all three runners scored and the Athletics tied the game before the Dodgers could get the ball to closer Kenley Jansen.
Los Angeles would go on to lose that game 5-4 after Yimi Garcia gave up back-to-back doubles to Mark Canha and Billy Butler in the 10th inning. Dodgers' manager Don Mattingly insisted the game was an anomaly, but less than 24 hours later lightning struck twice in the Coliseum.
After a two-run homer by Oakland native Jimmy Rollins gave the Dodgers a 2-1 lead, it was only a matter of time before the bullpen reared its ugly head once again.
Alex Wood had cruised through the first five innings before he ran into some trouble in the sixth. After a single, double and single tied the game at 2-2; Oakland took the lead on a double play ground ball that gave the A's a 3-2 edge.
Sports
Get today's sports news out of Los Angeles. Here's the latest on the Dodgers, Lakers, Angels, Kings, Galaxy, LAFC, USC, UCLA and more LA teams.
"I thought Alex was good early. He kept us in the game, gave us a chance," Mattingly said of Wood. "It just seemed like in that sixth inning he hit the wall."
Wood kept the game close, allowing the Dodgers to potentially tie or win the game with one swing of the bat, something they've done 28 times already this season. However, for the second straight night the Dodgers bullpen imploded in the eighth inning.
Former Braves' closer Jim Johnson who was acquired by Los Angeles at the trade deadline to take over the eighth inning setup role loaded the bases with nobody out before Mattingly opted for Luis Avilan and Pedro Baez who gave up two crucial runs, changing a one-run margin into a three-run crater.
According to FanGraphs, the Dodgers have the 7th worst relief pitching meltdown statistic in the entirely league. A "meltdown" is considered an occasion where a relief pitcher came into the game, and decreased his team's chances of winning that game by 6 percent or more.
According to the numbers, the Dodgers relievers have done that a total of 59 times this season, of the top 10 teams in MLB baseball with the most meltdowns, only the Chicago Cubs with 61 are a current playoff contender. This should be an alarming stat for LA's front office.
The numbers also show that when the Dodgers bullpen does implode, the results are disastrous. LA has the second-worst total bullpen Win Probability Added in the Majors, second ironically to the Oakland Athletics.
Bullpen troubles have become an old hat to this team, and with the San Francisco Giants sitting just 2.5 games behind the Dodgers for the division lead, now is not the time to be blowing saves in games you should win.
"Tonight happens, so obviously we're going to have to find ways to get the ball from our starters to Kenley," Mattingly said. "We've got guys who can do that and I trust that we're going to do that."
In the interim, the Dodgers pen problems are glaring. Wildly inconsistent with small flashes of brilliance is not enough to get the team over the hump and into their first World Series since 1988. Last season alone, both the Royals and San Francisco Giants made it to the fall classic with stellar back end relief pitching.
With no help in the seventh and eighth innings in site, the final weeks of the season will certainly be a wild ride once the starters come out of the game.
