Let’s be honest. Last night was tough. We’re all still mourning what should have been a perfect ending to an amazing season, but the reality of the situation is that the Padres outplayed us when it mattered most.
Tyler Anderson took the mound for Game 4 and put in an incredible 5 innings of keeping the Padres scoreless with our 2 runs. He delivered 6 strikeouts and only allowed 2 walks and 2 hits.
But, Dave Roberts decided to call Anderson’s day over and replace him with Brusador Graterol.
Many fans and even commentators were taken aback by the fact that the 7-year Dodgers captain would take out Tyler Anderson, who has been absolutely dominant all season.
Anderson threw more than 86 pitches on Saturday in 14 of his regular-season starts, going past the fifth inning 21 times.
He had this to say after the game about Doc’s decision mid-game:
“I could have thrown five more (innings)… I would have thrown 150 pitches if they had let me. But you never guess that situation.”
Frankly, I don’t think Anderson wasn’t questioning what might have happened had he stayed in the game, but Roberts has a history of getting guys out early.
Julio Urías, who started Game 1, only pitched 5 innings, Clayton Kershaw pitched 5, Tony Gonsolin only pitched 1 1/3 before Heaney backed him up with three innings.
Nonetheless, the Dodgers’ bullpen has been solid for the Dodgers this postseason in damage control situations.
Heading into last night’s game, the Dodgers’ pitching staff has held the Padres to a .115 average (3-for-26) with runners in scoring position in Games 1-3.
Anderson reflected on the quality of the bullpen this postseason:
“We have an amazing bullpen… They’ve been so good all year and they’ve helped us win so many games this year, so they understand trying to rebuild this and trying to get to tomorrow.”
Unfortunately, the pitching staff couldn’t survive and forced a Game 5. Kahlne, Almonte and Vesia allowed 5 crucial hits that contributed to 5 runs in the bottom of the 7th. And so the team’s season ended because the Dodgers offense didn’t respond by just 2 runs at the time.
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NEXT: Fans Blame The Series For Roberts’ Decisions